Undeniable Obedience
by Draugneth
Summary: ADOPTED FROM SuzukiChiyeko. Feeling guilty that his brother had given up his dreams to take care of him, Misaki decides it's time to get a job. He quickly finds the perfect one, the only problem is that they are asking for a girl. He makes up his mind and applies. His new boss is nice, and everything seems great, then it takes a turn for the worst. WARNING: Rape, swearing, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**I've adopted this from the beloved SuzukiChiyeko. If there are any repeats in the words or paragraphs, let me know in a review or PM! Hope you all enjoy, and thanks to SuzukiChiyeko for letting me adopt this! All of the first nine chapters are Suzuki's entirely.**

Chapter 1 - Blessing in disguise

Misaki could still remember the day he decided to apply for the job. It had been three months ago that he had made up his mind. One evening, when he got home after a long tiring day at school, Takahiro was sitting in the living room, looking at their financial situation. It didn't look good for the both of them, even though Takahiro always worked hard and tried not to spend money on useless things.

Takahiro had given up his dreams to study and started working after graduating high school. Because of this, he had never been able to get a job with a high salary. On top of that, Misaki proudly announced that he wanted to go to Mitsuhashi University. The only reason why he wanted to go there was to fulfill the dreams Takahiro had given up for him. He'd never told Takahiro the reason, which made it hard for his brother to accept his choice. After all, M University was one of the best universities and definitely not the cheapest.

Feeling guilty for asking his brother so much, Misaki concluded that he had to earn the money for his tuition fees himself. They had enough money to live a comfortable life, but there was no more room for luxuries. Knowing this, Misaki was determined to find himself a job so he could lift some weight off Takahiro's shoulders. Whenever his brother was off to work, Misaki would use the computer and search for job offers on the internet. He wasn't sure what kind of job he should get, which made it harder to find something suitable.

Then, after a week of searching, the brunet found a small article written by a wealthy American man. The guy's name was Jeff Honda, a 27-year-old man who was married to a Japanese fashion model named Emi Honda. The couple appeared to be needing a housekeeper, preferably a maid, who could clean the house and cook meals for them.

There was a bit of doubt present in Misaki's mind as he studied the article. So many things indicated that the family was looking for a girl, a female housekeeper, but he really wanted to job. Not only was the pay very good, but it was also something Misaki was good at. Takahiro had occasionally teased him, telling him that he'd make a perfect housewife, so Misaki was certain that he was fit for the job. The real question was whether he wanted to take the risk and apply.

Nearly an hour had passed when Misaki had finally made up his mind. He decided to give it a try and see if Jeff would invite him for a job interview. Knowing the proper rules of an application, Misaki helped himself with a template to write his curriculum vitae and added this to his covering letter. As he sent it, a feeling of nervousness entered him, and he realized that it was all a matter of luck if Jeff would actually invite him.

All he could do was wait.

Fortunately, Jeff managed to reply within five days, telling Misaki that he was impressed by his letter and wanted to invite him over to discuss the details of the job offer. The two set a date, and Misaki used every bit of his spare time to prepare for his job interview. Since he had never done something like that before, the wait was only making him more stressed and uneasy.

Takahiro noticed Misaki's unusual behavior and would occasionally ask his brother what was going on, but the teen would only say that his schoolwork kept piling up and that he was busy. There was not a single trace left behind of Misaki's attempts to get a job; it had to be kept a secret. Misaki promised himself that he would tell his brother as soon as he got the job.

That was, if he actually got the job.

Misaki's uncertainty only grew stronger as the days passed by, but he kept his head high and left the apartment to go to his first job interview. Jeff had given him the address of a coffee shop nearby, because he didn't want to force Misaki to come all the way to his house. He lived rather far away, and seeing that Misaki didn't have a license it would only be inconvenient for the young man.

When Misaki arrived at the coffee shop, Jeff was already there and greeted him warmly, yet professionally. The man was a lot friendlier than Misaki had imagined, especially since the brunet always thought that rich people looked down on commoners like him.

Fortunate for Misaki, everything went well and Jeff seemed to be very fond of him. Even though there were still other candidates, Jeff told the boy that he definitely had a great chance of getting the job and that he would get back to him once he'd decided who was going to be their new housekeeper. With a few last pleasantries, Misaki and Jeff bid each other farewell, and Misaki went home with a little more confidence than before.

* * *

It was six weeks later when Misaki got home from school, feeling relieved that summer break was about to start. After unlocking the front door and getting the mail from the mailbox, Misaki got in and took off his shoes. He studied the letters and was surprised to see one that was addressed to him.

"That's odd, I hardly get any mail." Being only seventeen years old, Misaki wasn't exactly an adult yet, and there was no way he could ever receive letters from family members as his brother was the only family he had left.

While walking to the living room, Misaki opened the envelope and tried to get the letter out. He laid the rest of the mail down on the coffee table and then focused on reading the letter. Much to his surprise, it was a letter from Jeff, telling him that he'd decided who was getting the job as his housekeeper. With sweaty hands, Misaki clutched the paper tighter as he continued to read. As he reached the bottom of the paper, he could feel his heart stop.

He had been hired.

Re-reading the contents in disbelief, Misaki's eyes grew wide with enthusiasm. It was hard to believe that a simple boy like him would be hired. Misaki could hardly express his happiness and could only jump and dance around the room. He couldn't wait to tell Takahiro the good news.

Just when he was about to go to his room, his cell phone started ringing. Not paying any attention to who the caller was, Misaki fished the device out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Hello, this is Takahashi Misaki."

"Good day, Takahashi-kun," a kind voice replied, "This is Jeff Honda. I was wondering if you have received my letter yet."

"Yes, I have! Thank you for hiring me, Honda-sama. I'm looking forward to my job as your housekeeper." Misaki's tone was cheerful and enthusiastic, easily expressing his gratitude and happiness.

A soft laughter could be heard on the other side. "Glad to hear that you're so eager to work for me," Jeff spoke in a calm voice, "I figured that you should be free from school about now, so perhaps you could start working here from tomorrow onwards?"

Misaki blinked in surprise. "Really? Is it okay for me to start so soon?"

"Do you have any problems with that?"

"No, of course not! I was just surprised, that's all." Misaki was grinning like a madman. "Tomorrow is fine. Could I get the exact address?"

"There will be no need for that, Takahashi-kun. One of my drivers will come to pick you up and bring you to my house. Please make sure that you're all ready when he arrives."

"I-I understand. Thank you again, Honda-sama. Good bye."

"Well then, see you tomorrow." Last words spoken, Jeff put the phone down, putting an end to their conversation.

Misaki put the cell phone back in his pocket and smiled happily when he heard the sound of the front door being opened. Running over to the hall, he greeted his older brother. "Welcome back, Nii-chan," he said loudly, "I've got some great news!"

"Oh, and what would that be?" Takahiro asked as he got up and approached the young male, placing a hand on his head, "You're happy that you have a few weeks of summer break and want to go on a trip with me?"

"Nii-chan, you know we don't have money for that," Misaki replied, his tone slightly sadder than before.

"You're right. So, what's the good news?"

Filled with sudden joy again, Misaki looked back up at his brother with a bright smile on his face. "I got myself a job!" he exclaimed proudly, guiding his brother to the living room.

Even though Takahiro had a smile on his face, he didn't feel entirely comfortable with what Misaki had just told him. He had no idea that the brunet had been looking for a job, leaving him to wonder what kind of job it could be.

"Nii-chan, are you okay?"

Takahiro snapped out of his thoughts to meet Misaki's concerned gaze, realizing that he'd been dozing off. He nodded and tried to show his brother a bigger smile. "I'm fine, but this is really unexpected. I didn't know you were trying to get a job."

"Well, I want to get some money to pay my tuition fees, so I will be working until summer break is over," Misaki explained, "I will start tomorrow, so I'm going to pack my bags now."

"Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit fast? What kind of job is it anyway?"

"Oh, I'm becoming a housekeeper." Digging in his pockets, Misaki found the article he had printed and handed it to his brother, who studied it carefully. A mixture of amazement and worry crossed Takahiro's face, but he said nothing. It was obvious that the family Misaki would work for was very rich, and Misaki had never been around wealthy people before. What if he didn't know how to act around them?

While Takahiro was thinking things over, Misaki quickly made his way to his room and started packing a pair of suitcases. He was very excited to start the next day and was unaware of his brother's worries. To him, it was surely going to be an exciting day.

* * *

Takahiro stared at his brother absentmindedly as he carried his luggage to the hall. There were two dark blue suitcases, one with clothes and essentials and the other with things that Misaki desperately wanted to take with him. As excited as Takahiro tried to be, he knew that he was going to miss the brunet. Because of his new job, Misaki would get a guest room at his master's house. That meant that he wouldn't see his brother as much as usual.

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"

Misaki rolled his eyes at his brother's overprotectiveness. Although he was nearly eighteen years old, Takahiro was still treating him like a child. He slowly turned around to face Takahiro and noticed that he looked a bit down. Emitting a soft sigh, he walked over to him.

"I'm going to miss you too," he muttered softly, trying not to become too sentimental. He knew what Takahiro was thinking and he understood that perfectly, but this was for the best. At least he had a good job for the time being. Once summer break was over, he would get back home with the money he'd earned and they would be a happy reunited family.

Takahiro ruffled the boy's soft brown hair. "Please promise me that you'll be careful."

"Nii-chan, you're worrying too much. I'll be fine."

"Please…just promise me." Takahiro's pleading voice echoed through the narrow hallway as his hazel eyes looked at Misaki.

Sighing again, the brunet simply nodded. Seeing this made his brother smile, and he was just about to give the other a hug when the doorbell rang. Hurriedly, Misaki sprinted to the door and opened up. He was met with a tall, yet rather old man. His hair was shaded black and grey and his eyes were brown and friendly-looking.

"Arima at your service. I'm here to pick you up, Takahashi-kun." Given Misaki's position as a domestic worker, Arima didn't need to be overly polite towards the teen.

"Ah, you must be the driver!" Misaki said, smiling kindly at the man. "Thank you very much for coming. Could I say goodbye to my brother before we leave?"

The old driver smiled. "Of course you may. I will take your suitcases to the car while you get ready." He took both suitcases in his hands and Misaki nodded, bowing slightly to show his gratitude. While Arima went back outside, Takahiro approached his younger brother and wrapped his arms around him.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye," he said softly, his voice tainted with sadness.

Misaki frowned as he looked up to meet Takahiro's gaze. "You make it sound like I'm never coming back. Don't worry, it's only a month and then I'll be home, safe and sound." As the brunet wriggled to free himself, Takahiro slowly let go of him.

"Take care, Misaki."

Standing right in front of the doorway, Misaki glanced over his shoulder. "You too, Nii-chan," he spoke before walking out and closing the door behind him. Deep inside, he was a little sad to leave the house for so long, but he brushed it off. It would all be worth it in the end.

Walking in the sun, Misaki soon spotted the shiny black car that was parked near the apartment. Cocking an eyebrow at the sight, he started to tremble a little at the thought that the family must have plenty of those cars at the mansion. He picked up the pace, noticing that Arima was holding the door for him. Smiling sweetly at the man, he got into the car and watched as Arima took the driver's seat.

"Are you all ready to go, Takahashi-kun?"

Misaki nodded as he met Arima's gaze in the rear-view mirror, giving him the sign that they could head for the mansion. He leaned back as the rays of the sun caressed his face and listened to the sound of the engine. It was pleasantly warm that day, a perfect start of summer break.

The buildings quickly passed by, but were soon replaced by the sight of tall trees. Misaki's master lived in the forest, not too far from away from the city, but still far enough to give the family the right amount of privacy.

"I must admit that I'm surprised." At the sound of Arima's voice, Misaki sat up and looked into the mirror again. "You are the very first male housekeeper Honda-sama has ever hired."

"Are you saying that there have only ever been maids working at the mansion?" Misaki asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Well, yes. Honda-sama doesn't seem to be too fond of other men working around his house, except for the gardener and his drivers. That's why I was very surprised to find out that you're a guy. When I first heard your name, I thought that you were a girl."

'Hey, I can't help it that I have a girl name!' Misaki screamed in his head, but he covered it with a nervous laugh. First impressions were very important, after all.

"I think that you have impressed him very much during your job interview, or he simply likes you a lot." Arima focused on the road while he kept talking to the brunet in the back. "You should know that Honda-sama doesn't always care about the capability of his workers."

"What do you mean?"

"There has been a maid who didn't even know how to cook rice, let alone make a proper meal." Upon hearing this, Misaki's eyes widened. What kind of man would hire a girl that didn't know how to cook? What was the use of getting a maid like that?

Misaki got too lost in his thoughts to hear the rest of Arima's story, and he rested his head against the window on his left, staring into nothingness. Until they had arrived at their destination, he would only think to himself, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

Completely oblivious to what was important.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Follow the rules

Misaki had his face pressed against the glass of the car window as he studied the huge manor ahead, jaw dropping in awe. Not only was the building at least five times bigger than his own place, it was also stunningly beautiful. The walls were white like snow, decorated by innumerous rounded windows and elegant green vines. It looked more like a picture from a fairy tale than a real house.

Were they really still somewhere in Tokyo? Misaki could hardly believe it.

The car came to halt in front of a huge, black gate, and Misaki allowed himself to take in more of the scenery. As he did this, a security camera attached to a pillar checked the waiting vehicle. Arima gave a little sign by raising his hand and waving at the camera, causing the gate to open in slow movements. Carefully, the driver drove the car into one of the parking lots.

"We have arrived at the Honda Estate, Takahashi-kun," Arima announced in a clear voice, "Please take my advice and don't walk around the mansion on your own—it is very easy to get lost. I'm sure that the owner of the house, Honda-sama, will show you around." He stepped out of the car to hold the car door open for Misaki.

"Thank you," Misaki said, smiling gratefully before getting out of the car. While Arima got to the back of the car to get Misaki's suitcases, the brunet walked down the cream-colored path. There were oval-shaped bushes on either side, filled with pretty white flowers.

Reaching the front door, Misaki pressed the button of the intercom and glanced over his shoulder to see that Arima had already caught up. A strong feeling of uneasiness entered the poor teen, but he tried to hide it with another smile. Standing in front of such an impressive mansion, owned by a relatively young and exceedingly wealthy couple, was making him even more nervous than he had been during their journey.

Misaki told himself to calm down before the owner would open up. He didn't want to do anything stupid during his first day, and being nervous would only cause him to do something weird or stupid.

"Ah, how great to see you here, Takahashi-kun!" The sudden sound of that familiar voice startled Misaki, making him tremble slightly from his jump scare. The boy mocked himself for being so jumpy, but then straightened his shoulders to regain his confidence. However, this failed when no other than Jeff Honda opened the door, wearing an expensive black suit and a silver tie.

'What is this?' Misaki asked in his head, 'Why does this guy wear a suit at home? Are all rich people like this?'

Arima bowed politely to greet the man, temporarily putting the suitcases down while his gaze traveled to Misaki. The young brunet was shaking like a leaf, even though he probably wasn't aware of this himself. His nervousness was getting the better of him, making it impossible for him to utter a single word.

Fortunately, Jeff was the one to speak. "I must thank you for coming over so quickly, Takahashi-kun," he said in a charming voice, "Let me show you around the house. Arima, I trust that you'll take Takahashi-kun's luggage to his room."

"Of course, Honda-sama," Arima replied, watching Misaki follow Jeff to explore the ground floor. The driver disappeared to the first floor, leaving Misaki's luggage in one of the bedrooms.

Once again, Misaki was amazed by the quality of the building. Underneath his feet lay a soft dark red carpet, complimenting the golden colors of the elegantly decorated wallpaper. Beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling as they walked past countless paintings of lovely sceneries. Every now and then, a small table with vases full of white flowers stood near one of the many windows, providing the flowers sunlight. There were no imperfections, not a single speck of dust or even a smudge on one of the paintings.

Misaki felt as though he was walking through a castle, but was brought back to reality when Jeff stopped in front of a door. Even the doorknobs appeared to match the color of the chandeliers. He waited in anticipation as his master slowly pushed the door open, revealing a spacious room with bookcases as far as the eye could see. Two dark green sofas were positioned in the center, a longcase clock standing against the back of one of the bookcases.

Taking a few steps forward, Jeff gave Misaki the chance to enter the room as well. "This is the library…or to be more specific, my personal library. Unlike my dearest wife, I'm very fond of literature." Turning around, Jeff allowed his crystal blue eyes to catch a glimpse of his housekeeper. "Did I mention that I'm an author?"

"Yes, you said so during the job interview."

"Even remembering such tiny details," Jeff said, a handsome smile plastered on his face, "I'm impressed."

For some strange reason, Misaki could feel his cheeks heat up slightly. Maybe it was because Jeff was flattering him so casually. Despite his youthful pride, Misaki never thought of himself as a great person, but Jeff made him feel better about himself.

Yet, what was even more amazing was the amount of books in this private library. It was hard to believe that Jeff was actually planning to read all of them, if he hadn't done so already. Then again, it was understandable how addicting reading could be; Misaki could easily get addicted to manga as well.

Jeff looked at the clock and clicked his tongue. "We should move on now. I hope you're willing to cook today's dinner, because that is what one of your tasks will be." He walked back out and then pointed at a door at the end of the corridor. "That room over there is the music room. Since it's nothing special, I prefer not to show it to you as we have little time left."

"What about the other rooms?" Misaki asked curiously.

"Most of the rooms in this part of the house aren't very important. Some of these rooms are hardly ever used anymore."

Silently, Misaki followed his master as they walked back to the main hall, this time going to the West Wing of the manor. This part of the building consisted of a lounge room, kitchen and dining room. Both the lounge room and dining room were directly connected to the kitchen to provide a convenient route for housekeepers like Misaki.

When the two reached the kitchen, Jeff looked at the young brunet. "Takahashi-kun, please prepare dinner now. I have an important call to make, but I will be back once dinner is served." He flashed a gentle smile. "Usually, the housekeepers and servants eat after me and my wife have had our meal, but I would like you to join me for dinner today."

Misaki nodded in understanding. "Do you have any preferences, Honda-sama?"

"Something simple will do." With this, Jeff left the kitchen and left Misaki on his own devices.

After studying the kitchen for a while, Misaki walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open, looking for some ingredients. Since Jeff had given him absolutely no description of what kind of food he wanted, Misaki decided to just settle for whatever he could prepare.

Finding some pork chops and eggs, Misaki took the ingredients and placed them onto the counter. It appeared that someone had just run some errands, as there were plenty of different things to use. This surprised the young male, because Jeff didn't look like the type to go to the grocery store by himself.

While taking a bowl from one of the cupboards, something colorful grabbed Misaki's attention. As he looked more closely, he noticed that there was a small note attached to the side of the refrigerator. Lifting the silver-colored magnet with one hand, he grabbed the note and read it. It turned out to be a bi-weekly dinner meal plan.

Coincidentally, Misaki discovered that he was supposed to make Tonkatsu, as he had planned. This thought was quickly discarded as he noticed something very peculiar. The handwriting looked as though it was written by a girl. Misaki doubted that it belonged to Jeff's wife, but who else?

Misaki got rid of the extra fat parts of the pork chops before dusting it with salt and pepper. Since he was used to cooking on a regular basis, he could allow his mind to wander of as he prepared the food. The teen started to think more about the person who had written the note. There had to be another housekeeper around, but it seemed so illogical to him. If they already had a housekeeper, what did they need him for?

* * *

Misaki was setting the table when Jeff entered the dining room, smiling approvingly at him. Running a hand through his vanilla blond hair, he sat down on one of the mahogany chairs while Misaki walked back to the kitchen to add some finishing touches to the meal. With two plates he returned and placed them onto to dining table as gracefully as he could. As Jeff motioned for him to sit down, Misaki obediently took the seat across from him.

"I'm glad that you made Tonkatsu for dinner. It's my favorite Japanese food."

Misaki smiled. "I saw a dinner meal plan on the refrigerator." He replied and realized that it was a good time to ask about the girl who'd written the meal plan. "Honda-sama, are there any other housekeepers here?"

Jeff put his fork and knife down as he looked at the brunet. "Lillian has been working for me ever since I became successful in the United States. She moved to Japan with me to loyally serve me for the rest of her life."

It appeared that Misaki's suspicions were right. There was indeed a maid in the manor. "Then, I must ask, why did you hire me?" he asked carefully, "You already have a diligent maid working for you."

"That is true, but Lillian has some health issues," Jeff explained, "She suffers from migraine headaches, so she often can't complete all of her tasks. Lately it has become more problematic, so I have been searching to hire other housekeepers."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, but I must confess that you have been given a few more tasks than Lillian because of her condition. If you feel that you can't complete all of your tasks, do not hesitate to tell me."

It took Misaki by surprise that a man so rich and powerful could show him so much kindness. No matter what Jeff said, his words sounded kind and thoughtful. No wonder that Lillian chose to serve this man for so long.

"Oh, I just realized that Lillian-san won't have anything for dinner now. I only prepared food for you and me." Placing his hands on the table, Misaki was ready to get back to the kitchen. "I'll make her something now. It wouldn't be very considerate to make nothing for her."

Jeff raised his hand as an order for Misaki to halt his ministrations. "There's no need. Lillian has been taught to take care of herself. She will eventually cook something for herself if she is feeling fitter and strong enough to get out of bed."

"Is she really going to be okay? Is her condition that serious?"

"I surely wouldn't call her healthy, but there's nothing dangerous about her situation. Lillian knows when she has to rest and is quite used to getting headaches. As cruel as that may sound, it's the truth. According to her, she has been suffering from migraine attacks for years."

As they continued to eat, Misaki started to feel sorry for Lillian. He hadn't met her yet, but her situation sounded terrible to him. It had to be frustrating to get headaches so frequently. He considered bringing her something to eat after dinner, but discarded the idea and decided to listen to his master instead.

Dinner was eaten in silence, but Jeff would glance at Misaki every once in a while to lock eyes with him. Whenever he did this, Misaki would smile at him and take another bite from the pork cutlets. The silence was pleasing rather than uncomfortable.

When Jeff finished his food, he put his hands on either side of his plate and emitted a satisfied sigh. "The meal was remarkably delicious, Takahashi-kun."

"Thank you." Misaki was used to receiving compliments on his cooking as Takahiro praised him all the time, but that didn't stop the blush creeping up his neck and spreading across his cheeks. It was the trait of modesty, something he could never change. Clearing his throat, he started clearing the table and bringing the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.

Jeff followed the young man and stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. "Once you're done with the dishes, you can go to your bedroom and unpack. Your room is on the first floor, the third door on the left. There's a schedule with daily tasks in the dresser for you."

Misaki nodded and bowed. "I understand. Thank you, Honda-sama." Jeff left the kitchen and Misaki waited for the dishpan to be filled with hot water. With some dish soap and a sponge he cleaned the plates, bowls and cutlery.

The new atmosphere and environment seemed uncomfortable to Misaki, but he was sure that he would be able to adjust nicely. All he had to do was complete his daily tasks and show his master and wife utmost respect and diligence. He rubbed the last plate clean and dried everything off with a decorated dish towel. Opening the kitchen cabinets and drawers, he put everything back in its rightful place.

'There, all done. Now where did Honda-sama say that my room was?' Misaki mocked himself for being so forgetful and made his way to the main hall. He walked the length of the wide marble staircase and turned left, gradually recalling what Jeff had said to him.

Once in front of the third door, he pushed the doorknob down. His eyes were met with a gorgeous room with cream colored walls. The wooden floor was made of summer oak and was covered by a large sand colored carpet. The sheets on the bed were white with a brown pattern of swirls, but that wasn't what caught Misaki's attention. On the bed lay a pair of familiar suitcases.

Misaki walked to the bed and opened one the suitcases, which was full of clothes. His eyes found an overly large wardrobe and he chose to start by hang up his clothes first. He opened the closet, about to grab one of the cloth hangers. He froze as his gaze fell on a work uniform hanging on the far right.

Growing suspicious, Misaki pulled the outfit out and examined it. He knew that as a housekeeper, he was supposed to wear a work uniform, but this...this was a traditional Japanese maid costume, short and frilly and way too feminine for him to wear.

'This can't be right,' Misaki thought, laughing nervously, 'They must have a male uniform for me somewhere.' With this in mind, he held the uniform in one hand and left the room, expecting that his master would have a logical explanation for this.

Clutching the fabric of the maid costume, Misaki walked down the stairs to look for Jeff. He didn't really know where to look first, but fortunately he remembered that his master was very fond of literature, meaning that he would probably be in the library.

Misaki entered the East Wing, counting the doors as he walked the length of the corridor. Cursing under his breath, he wondered why such an enormous building didn't have a floor map or at least a few signs. How in the world could Lillian find her way in such a maze? Every door looked exactly the same!

Thanks to the paintings on the other wall, the teen could figure where he was, and soon he was standing in front of one of the doors. He hesitantly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. The room didn't exactly look familiar to him; instead of bookcases, there was pool table right in front of him and several lounge chairs resting the walls. A dart board hung on the right wall at the far back of the room.

'This must be some sort of game room,' Misaki thought to himself, 'Perhaps they even have a mysterious basement and secret passages here.' He let his imagination run free, remembering the many things he'd seen in the movies he used to watch with Takahiro.

After closing the door, Misaki walked back to the first door of the corridor and slightly opened the door. He sighed in relief when he saw Jeff sit on one of the sofas with a book in his hands. With a soft knock, he grabbed his master's attention.

"Takahashi-kun, is something the matter?" Jeff asked. He put his bookmark between the pages before laying the book on the table, his crystal blue eyes fixed on Misaki.

"I found this in my wardrobe," Misaki replied as he held the uniform in front of him as though it was something dirty. He was sure that Jeff would understand his confusion, but was surprised to see his master raise his brow.

"Is there a problem with the uniform?"

'Isn't it obvious?!' Misaki was getting uncomfortable and could feel how hot his face was. Blushing in front of another man with a girly maid uniform in his hand—it couldn't get any worse than this.

Taking a deep breath, Misaki flashed a small, polite smile. "This is a maid costume, which means that it's meant to be worn by a girl."

"I can see that." Jeff laughed charmingly. "Some problems occurred when Lillian tried to buy you a proper work uniform, so I'm afraid you will have to wear this. I hope you have no problems with that matter."

Misaki looked at his master, completely stunned. This had to be some sort of sick joke. There was absolutely no way in hell that he would ever wear something so embarrassing. He was a man; he had to protect his pride instead of humiliating himself. Yet, despite these thoughts, Misaki knew that he couldn't disobey. Instead of protesting, all he did was continue to smile and shake his head.

"It's no big deal," he spoke softly.

"Good. Then I suggest you go to your room and check if the size of the uniform is right for you."

With a quick bow Misaki excused himself and got out of the room. Things hadn't gone exactly the way he planned and now he was forced to wear the black and white dress he was holding. He sighed loudly and slowly took some steps forward while looking out of the window he passed. The weather was cloudy and gloomy, but it didn't look as though it was going to rain. The sky was a combination of light shades of gray, making everything outside look darker as the clouds blocked the sunlight.

Misaki got himself together and returned to his bedroom. He let himself in and then closed the door softly, careful not to make too much noise as it might annoy Lillian. After closing the brown curtains he started changing. The maid costume lay on his bed as he took off his shirt and shorts and folded the garments. He gave the uniform a look of disgust before taking it in his hands. As he tried to put it on he noticed that there was something hidden inside the uniform. Pulling it out, his eyes narrowed at the pair of black lacy stockings that matched the outfit.

It was undoubtedly a case of shattered pride as Misaki forced himself into the dress, praying that it would be either too big or small for him. When it turned out that the outfit fit him perfectly, Misaki furrowed his eyebrows in irritation. He then shook his head. Gathering his courage, he pulled the stockings over his legs and walked to the mirror on the side of his wardrobe. In his eyes, he looked absolutely ridiculous, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Once he had looked at himself long enough, Misaki carefully opened the door. He had to let his master know that the costume was right for him, even if he didn't want to wear it.

"Excuse me?" Misaki's eyes widened in horror when he heard a voice speak to him. Turning around, he saw a lady with gray hair staring at him. She wore a maid uniform just like him, but the skirt reached her ankles instead of her knees. She had a few wrinkles on her face, but she didn't look very old. With a friendly smile on her face she moved closer to him. "You must be the new housekeeper."

"Yes, that's right. My name is Takahashi Misaki. You must be Lillian-san."

"Lillian will do," The maid said kindly, "I've never cared much for Japanese honorifics."

"Honda-sama told me you suffer from migraine attacks. Are you alright now?"

Lillian nodded her head gently. "There's no need to worry about me, Takahashi. I take care of myself just fine." As she passed him, her eyes wandered off. "I was about to go to our master. Care to come with me?"

Without a reply Misaki followed the maid to the stairs. Lillian was exactly how he had imagined her to be; she was a kind and motherly, but not overbearing. Jeff was definitely lucky to have a housekeeper like her.

"It must be hard for you to find your way around the mansion," Lillian said while they walked down the stairs, "I believe that master has given you a schedule and a map of the entire estate."

"That's right. He said they are in the dresser, but I haven't had the chance to study the map yet." Misaki felt so exposed walking down the stairs with a skirt. It couldn't be helped. All he could do was hold down the skirt and hope that no one would try to peek under it, which he soon realized was completely pointless. Who in the right mind would try to look under the skirt of a guy?

Lillian took the lead and Misaki followed her obediently. Because he was walking behind her he could see a few dark brown hairs between the gray locks. She couldn't be much older than fifty years, and Misaki believed that her gray hair was due to stress instead of age. Perhaps she was stressed because of the constant headaches keeping her from completing her tasks.

After a soft knock and a confirmation from her master, Lillian opened the door and bowed in the doorway. She entered the library and Misaki shut the door before catching up. Jeff was still reading the same book, but put it down when his housekeepers stood right next to him.

"I suppose you're feeling better now, Lillian?"

"Yes master. There is something I would like to ask though. Will the mistress return from her tour tomorrow?"

Jeff smiled at his maid and nodded. "She will return in the afternoon, after lunch and before dinner. Furthermore, Akihiko will be visiting us tomorrow as well, yet that isn't really any of your concern." His eyes wandered to the brunet next to Lillian. "It will be Takahashi-kun's duty to take care of our guest."

"Thank you, master. That is all I need to know." Lillian smiled at Misaki before leaving the room. The young housekeeper looked back at his master after Lillian was gone.

"Honda-sama, would you mind telling me more about the guest you mentioned?" Misaki asked calmly. He was actually very nervous because of the sudden announcement, so he wanted to know as much as possible to prevent himself from doing anything stupid.

"Usami Akihiko is a famous Japanese novelist. He is very successful here in Japan, but has also made his debut in America with an English novel. I met him at an award ceremony about a year ago."

"Does that mean that Usami-sama is a business partner?"

Jeff laughed and stared at the vase with flowers on the table. "I would rather say friends with shared interests. There's no need for professional or business-like conversations, but I want you to know that Akihiko can be a very difficult man at times. It is very hard to impress him."

'He sounds more like a narcissistic asshole to me,' Misaki thought, but he daren't say this out loud.

"By the way, the uniform seems to be perfect for you." Jeff smiled as he motioned for Misaki to come closer and sit down. Hesitantly, Misaki took a seat next to his master and shifted uncomfortably as those eyes studied him carefully. He knew that Jeff was only trying to make sure that the uniform was the right size, but it was still embarrassing to be looked at in such a way.

"Is this really okay?"

"What is?" Jeff asked, snapping out of his trance.

"Can I sit right next to you even though you're my master?" Misaki's tone was uncertain and soft.

11h ago"Would you rather sit on the ground?" Jeff teased in reply, crossing his legs casually. He picked up the book from the table and got up to put it back into the bookcase. There were hundreds, no, thousands of books in the library, yet Jeff seemed to have a soft spot for the book in his hands. He ran his hand over to ruby red cover slowly before storing it away. Once he had returned to his seat, his eyes trailed down Misaki's body.

"You have nice legs for a guy." Misaki blushed at this remark. It felt very weird to be complimented on such a thing, especially by another man.

"T-thank you, Honda-sama."

"I would prefer it if you called me master instead. Otherwise it will become confusing once my wife has returned."

Despite that Jeff did have a point, Misaki wasn't pleased with the idea of having to call him master. For one, it made him feel unimportant and the tiniest bit humiliated. Moreover, he was already getting used to saying Honda-sama.

Jeff slowly moved closer to his housekeeper and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I have a task for you right now." He smirked at the innocent look in Misaki's eyes. Innocence begging to be stolen. Leading a young hand to his crotch, his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Take care of that for me."

Misaki's eyes widened in disbelief, but his doubts were banished as he felt the bulge in his master's pants. He couldn't believe what Jeff what asking of him. Why would a guy want to be taken care of by another guy? Besides, Jeff was already married!

"M-master, I can't…" Misaki whispered, trying to retract his hand. Jeff took his hand forced it back on his clothed erection, not averting his stare.

"Don't worry, it won't be difficult," he cooed, moving his lips to the brunet's ear, "All you have to do is put your cute little mouth on it and I'll teach you how to do it." There was no evidence that the man was joking. This made Misaki realize that his master was serious, which left him with two options; he could either refuse to do it with the risk of losing his job, or he could comply and hope he wouldn't have to do it again.

Yet, as much as Misaki feared of losing his job, this was too hard for him.

Noticing the boy's discomfort, Jeff stroked his hair gently. "Perhaps I'm pushing you too much," he said caringly, "However, I will have you know that there's no way to avoid this, Takahashi-kun."

Large eyes looked up worriedly. "I-I can't do it," Misaki protested, but was silenced by a finger pressing against his lips.

"Go get some rest; I'm sure you'll need it."

Hesitantly, Misaki got up and slowly walked to the door. He was very scared of the things Jeff had said to him; it wasn't like him at all. Misaki thought his master was a kind person, so it was unbelievable that he would ask him to do something so inappropriate. Then again, it might have just been a method to make him work harder. Believing these naïve thoughts, Misaki left the room.

Jeff smiled to himself once Misaki was out of sight. He had his new housekeeper wrapped around his finger, just like he wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Vicious Amusement

Misaki had gotten up early as the morning came to help Lillian prepare breakfast and clean the ground floor of the huge manor. While the dusted everything in the East Wing, their master finally began to wake from his long and deep slumber. Jeff got dressed in another expensive suit after taking a shower and then greeted his two housekeepers downstairs, praising them for their hard and good work.

Humming happily, Misaki followed his master to the dining room to serve breakfast. He was already in a good mood thanks to all the encouragement he had gotten from the others. Although he was pretty nervous at welcoming their guest in the afternoon, he was sure that it would be all right. Jeff had given him some very clear instructions, so what could possibly go wrong?

Jeff noticed his servant's optimistic mood and smiled kindly as Misaki brought him his food. "I see that you've made something delicious once again," he said as he reached for his chopsticks, "I'm glad to have such a marvelous cook in my house."

"Thank you, master. I hope you'll enjoy." With a bow, Misaki turned around. He was about to leave the room when Jeff called out his name.

"Takahashi-kun," the man spoke, "Akihiko will arrive around half past one, so I suggest you prepare lunch a tad earlier today."

"I understand," Misaki replied and glanced at the clock. It was ten o'clock, so he still had some time left to help Lillian clean. He left the dining room and found Lillian in the hall, watering the flowers and other plants there. She smiled when she caught sight of him.

Together, the housekeepers cleaned the tiny bit of filth around the house. While doing so, Misaki managed to spot the gardener working in the gardens to make everything look perfect. It made him wonder if Akihiko really was that hard to please. Truth be told, he had been wondering what kind of person their guest was for a while, especially since Jeff hadn't told him very much about the mysterious man.

'Maybe Lillian can tell me more about him,' Misaki thought, turning towards the kind lady. "Lillian, can you tell me more about Usami-sama?"

"He's an author like our master, but other than that they are very different. Usami-sama tends to look down on those of a lower class, and he's mostly quiet and close-minded. Even though he has visited us plenty of times already, I still know very little about him."

Misaki frowned at Lillian's description. As curious as he was, he doubted that he was looking forward to meeting Akihiko. The guy he had in mind was an arrogant, rich man who couldn't care less about anything in the world and believed that everything revolves around him. It was exactly the type of person he couldn't stand.

Deep down the brunet felt bad for judging a man he had never met before, but none of the things he had heard about Akihiko were exactly positive. The only person who could prove him wrong was Akihiko himself. Fortunately, Misaki still believed that this would be the case, and with his positive way of thinking his continued doing his chores.

After another hour of cleaning, the West Wing was free of filth as well and all set to welcome visitors. It was just in time as Misaki had to cook lunch and eat breakfast and lunch with Lillian.

Once he had served lunch, Misaki flopped down on one of the kitchen chairs, emitting a loud sigh. Lillian, who was sitting across from him, giggled softly at the sight.

"It may seem like hard work, but it's usually a lot less chaotic," she told him as she took a sip of her tea, "When there are no guests, it isn't common that we have to clean the entire floor in one morning."

"I don't mind, but I need to get used to it," Misaki said with a weak smile. He remembered cleaning the entire apartment he and Takahiro shared in less than three hours, but it was nothing compared to what he was up against at the Honda Estate.

"If I'm not mistaken, master just rang the bell, so he must have finished his food." Lillian rose from her seat and so did Misaki. "After we've cleared the table, I'll do the dishes so you can welcome Usami-sama."

"Lillian, you mentioned yesterday that you don't care for honorifics, yet you always call him Usami-sama," Misaki pointed out.

"That's simply because I know it's disrespectful not to use one in his case. I wouldn't want to insult one of master's friends."

Misaki nodded in understanding and followed her to the dining room, where Jeff was waiting for them to collect the dirty dishes. He beckoned Misaki while Lillian returned to the kitchen.

"Takahashi-kun, I want you to take Akihiko to the library when he arrives," he instructed, "Once I'm all done, I will meet the two of you there."

"Of course, master." As soon as Misaki had said this, the doorbell rang. The brunet hurried to the exit, hearing Jeff mutter something about his friend being too early as usual, and walked to the front door.

The doorbell rang once more before the teen opened the door. He was met with a very tall man in a dark suit and a yellow tie. Silvery hair framed the visitor's face, complimenting his narrow, amethyst eyes. Those same eyes studied Misaki curiously as he held the door open.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Misaki bowed politely. "Welcome Usami-sama," he spoke in a clear voice, "My name is Takahashi Misaki. My master ordered me to take you to the library."

Akihiko closed his eyes and adjusted his tie with his long fingers. "For a moment, I believed that you were a girl, but you don't sound like one."

"Y-yes, that's because there were some problems with getting a male uniform, so—"

"I don't believe I asked for an explanation," the man interrupted coldly.

Misaki stiffened momentarily, but then forced a smile on his face. "Please allow me to escort you to the library, Usami-sama," he offered, feeling relieved as Akihiko entered the mansion. He shut the door quietly and led the way, even though he was sure the author knew damn well where the library was.  
As they walked, Misaki could feel that he was being stared at, but he said nothing about it. He could understand Akihiko's surprise to see a guy in a maid uniform, so it was only natural that he was getting some weird looks. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any less awkward and twice as embarrassing. If his brother ever saw him like that…

The brunet shook his head. No way in hell he would ever let Takahiro see him in such a humiliating outfit. If it was just a stranger he could handle it, but Takahiro was nothing like that.

Coming to halt in front of a door, Misaki was about to turn the doorknob when he heard coughing. Turning around, he looked at Akihiko questioningly.

"You've got the wrong door," the man stated, pointing to another door in that corridor, "The library is over there."

A bright pink spread across Misaki's face as he realized his mistake. "Ah—yes! I'm very sorry," he apologized quickly and walked to the door Akihiko had been pointing at. He could hear chuckling come from behind and blushed harder. Only two minutes had passed and he had already made a fool out of himself.

"You are new here, correct? What did you say your name was?"

"Takahashi Misaki," the brunet said softly, "and yes, I started working here yesterday."

"Takahiro's baby brother," Akihiko muttered, "That's funny."

For a moment, Misaki wanted nothing more than to punch Akihiko in the face, but he composed himself. Whatever this guy was talking about was probably none of his business anyway, so why bother? He turned the doorknob and the door opened. After letting Akihiko enter the room, Misaki just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Are you going to stand there forever?" the other asked mockingly, yet a smirk found its way to his lips.

"Oh, I-I'll go see if my master is ready now," Misaki answered, trying to find a reason to get away. Much to his irritation, it wasn't working very well.

"You said he wanted you to take me here, so I'm sure he will come once he's done. Do you really hate being around me so much that you want to get away from me as quickly as possible?"

Shocked by Akihiko's bold question, Misaki hastily shook his head. Seeing that there was no way out, he moved closer to the sofa where Akihiko was sitting and lowered his head in attempt to avoid eye contact.

"I can hardly believe Jeff is making you wear something so degrading," the author said suddenly, succeeding in drawing the attention to himself.

"Like I said, there were no male uniforms."

"That still sounds like a weak excuse to make a guy wear girls' clothes. Besides, all the uniforms are custom clothing; Jeff always orders them instead of buying normal uniforms."

Misaki was at a loss of words, staring with wide eyes and an open mouth at the other, who rested his arm on the backrest uninterestedly. Surely Akihiko wasn't trying to imply that Jeff hadn't gotten his housekeeper a proper uniform on purpose, was he? Misaki couldn't believe that Jeff would do such a thing.

The events of the previous evening crossed Misaki's mind. Despite his kindness, Jeff was undoubtedly a pervert at heart, but was this for real or was it just an act to scare him? These thoughts were slowly breaking the trust Misaki had in his master and drowned him in questions to problems he could not solve—or at least…not yet.

"Are you worried about Jeff's intentions? I have never seen him flirt with any guy or any other girl than his wife, but that does not prove a single thing."

Green eyes closed and opened in swift gestures. "Don't you trust him, Usami-sama? I thought the two of you were friends."

"That doesn't mean that we don't keep secrets from one another. There are plenty of things I don't know about him, unless Emi tells me about them."

Akihiko's words were truthful and they made sense to the puzzled brunet, but they didn't provide any answers. Misaki wasn't sure what to believe anymore. He didn't want to accuse his master of something he hadn't done, but the information Akihiko had given him confused him to no end. There was no doubt that Jeff would deny everything if Misaki asked him directly, so talking to Lillian seemed to be a better option. That was, unless the lady tried to protect here master as well.

"Sorry for making you wait," someone spoke suddenly. Jeff stood in the doorway and smiled at his friend. "I hope Takahashi-kun kept you company."

"Yes, he did," Akihiko replied in a plaintive voice, "What kept you busy?"

"A phone call from my dearest," Jeff said as he took a seat on the other couch, "Would you like something to drink, Akihiko? You must be thirsty." His gaze found Misaki. "Bring us some tea."

Misaki gave a quick nod and left the library, making his way to the kitchen. With a kettle and a very delicate teapot he prepared some cherry flavored tea and poured it into two cups. He put everything on the tray, but didn't return to his master right away. Instead, the brunet looked around for Lillian, hoping to be able to get some answers from her.

A note lay on the counter, reading that Lillian wasn't feeling well and had returned to her bedroom to take some rest. Understanding her situation, Misaki chose not to bother her with something of such little importance and took hold of the tray. He carried it back to the other side of the mansion to bring the two men their tea.

Upon entering the library, Misaki sensed that something was different. Jeff and Akihiko were no longer exchanging pleasantries and both wore frustrated looks on their faces. Although Misaki wanted to know what was wrong, he knew he was in no position to ask.

"Honestly Jeff, I don't see why Emi would ever cheat on you," Akihiko spoke to break the silence, "She obviously loves you very much."

Jeff scoffed. "Perhaps she does, but she's the biggest slut I've ever met in my entire life. Whenever she goes away, I receive a call from her that her driver is too late or some other excuse why she can't be home on time. Do you think I still believe after God knows how many times?"

Akihiko furrowed his brows. "Since when have become so pessimistic about your love life? Aren't you and Emi still in a very healthy sexual relationship as well?"

"We are, yet she does not seem to be satisfied with receiving pleasure from only one man."

In his current situation, Misaki had absolutely no idea what to do. Walking right into such a hateful conversation wasn't exactly pleasant, not to mention that Jeff's way of speaking took him by surprise. For one, Misaki had never once thought that his master would ever use a word like 'slut', and then he was also using that same word to describe his own wife. How had things changed so dramatically in such little time?

As Misaki stood near his master to put his tea on the table, crystal blue eyes found him. "Takahashi-kun, could you come a bit closer please?" The man's voice was gentle and calm as he talked to the teen, as if nothing happened.

Obediently, the boy stood right next to Jeff. He gave a little yelp when he was pulled down to sit into the man's lap, facing him.

"Master?" Misaki questioned in a soft, nervous voice.

The usual charming smile returned to Jeff's features. "I could really use some stress relief right now," he whispered sultrily, his hands curling around Misaki's shoulders as he pushed him back slightly, "Do you remember what I said yesterday?"

"B-but I can't…a-and Usami-sama is here too," Misaki protested with a whisper.

"Are you going to disobey me again?"

The poor teen's mind was blank as he looked at his unusually dangerous master. Those eyes were spitting venom at him, even though the rest of his face looked relaxed and calm. This made Misaki wonder what Jeff was thinking and why he was doing such a thing. Perhaps Akihiko had said something about his earlier clumsiness and had made Jeff upset, resulting into a punishment for his housekeeper.

'Is he really angry with me? I don't want to do this, but—'

"I hope you aren't going to disappoint me a second time," Jeff said as he wiped the soft chocolate hair out of Misaki's face. With these words, he knew he had the boy right where he wanted him. Misaki was very scared to lose his job, so he only needed a push in the right direction.

Misaki was falling for the tricks used on him, but he found it difficult to push his common sense aside and do as he was told. Trying to convince himself, he moved from his master's lap and kneeled down in front of him, his pride shattering with every second. His hands were trembling as they moved to Jeff's zipper. The beating of his heart got louder and faster and his breath got stuck in his throat.

Akihiko was watching the scene in disbelief. Although he hadn't heard the words exchanged between master and servant, his mind managed to comprehend what was going on. His gaze followed Misaki's movements, watching how the boy undid Jeff's trousers and hesitantly took his erection in hand. He couldn't help but wonder what Jeff had said to his servant to make him do it.

"Good, Takahashi-kun," the blond mused when his hard length was being rubbed by a soft, warm hand, "Now open wide and suck on the tip." He smirked and patted the teen's head when Misaki reluctantly obeyed. Even with his inexperience, Misaki turned the man on greatly.

Blushing from head to toe, Misaki tried to engulf the thick cock of his master, but he found this to be rather difficult. Fearing to upset Jeff, he fondled the base with his hand as he suckled on the head. He heard a moan and decided to finish it as fast as possible, even though he had no idea how to do so. It wasn't like he knew how to give someone a blowjob.

Jeff could sense how uncertain Misaki was and started to move his hips, thrusting into the boy's mouth. He felt Misaki jolt at the sudden movement and snickered, giving a soft moan when the brunet began to take more into his mouth. Misaki was moving slowly around his length, but sped up gradually.

"Fuck…" the blond groaned hoarsely, "Suck my dick. That's it…harder, Takahashi-kun."

'How am I supposed to do it harder? He doesn't even fit into my mouth!' Misaki was panicking in his head, not even realizing that Akihiko was still in the room with them. He had long forgotten about the author's presence.

Akihiko, on the other hand, surely hadn't forgotten about him and was watching in utter astonishment how Misaki took care of his master. Although he wasn't fond of seeing the two in such a situation—especially since it gave him the feeling as though he was being ignored—it was very erotic to see. It was impossible for him to tear his eyes away from the entrancing sight.

"Would you like some as well?" Jeff asked his friend as he stared at him, "I'm sure Takahashi-kun could pleasure you too." As he said this, he felt Misaki protest with his lips still wrapped around his member. With a smile, he ruffled the teen's hair.

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I can't allow myself to do that even if I wanted to."

Jeff sighed through his groans. "Are you still holding on to that same one-sided love?" he asked, "You should know it will break your heart and make it shatter into tiny pieces someday."

"So you think it's better to be in a relationship with someone who is unfaithful to you than to be faithful to a person who won't love you back?"

"Yes, because there's one small, but very important difference," Jeff explained, "I can be comforted by others, while you just waste away with your pain and sorrow." He looked down at Misaki, who opened his eyes for a moment and met his stare. His face was redder than a tomato and his eyes a bit puffy from when he almost gagged. It was a most vulnerable expression which made him look remarkably cute.

With a tightening grip on Misaki's hair, Jeff thrust into his mouth unevenly. The dumbfounded look on Akihiko's face amused him, but he quickly brought his attention back to his housekeeper.

"I'm coming," Jeff whispered as he panted.

Misaki only squeezed his eyes shut and tasted his master's juices on his tongue as Jeff came in his mouth. A small trail of semen ran down his chin when the man pulled out and watched him with a satisfied look in his eyes. The brunet carefully rose and opened his eyes, even though he didn't want to look at Jeff. What had just happened was too shameful for him to handle, yet he had done as he was told. It made Misaki feel dirty.

"Swallow it, Takahashi-kun," Jeff ordered and saw how the teen obediently swallowed his bitter seed, his face contorting in disgust. "Good boy. You may leave now."

Bowing swiftly, Misaki turned around and practically ran out of the library. He ignored Akihiko as he called out to him and ran to the bathroom, locking himself in there. As he looked in the mirror, he could only see the misery and shame written on his face.

Messy strands of hair stuck to Misaki's sweaty face as he continued to stare at his reflection. Doubt began to cloud his mind and thoughts at the realization that he had made a complete fool out of himself. He rested his head against the cold surface of the mirror and emitted a sigh.

Had he really made the right decision?

* * *

"What exactly was that all about?"

"Is there a problem, Akihiko?" Jeff looked at his friend innocently, but the serious expression on Akihiko's face didn't falter. "Takahashi-kun simply did as he was told. Isn't that what a servant does?"

Akihiko folded his arms. "Not if it's anything sexual. Do you have any sense of guilt at all?"

"I suggest you ask Emi that question instead of asking me," Jeff growled angrily, "I have no reason to be faithful to her anymore, and I don't need you to tell me what to do. What would you know about relationships anyway?"

Offended by the other's question, Akihiko rose from his seat. "I'm going out for a smoke," he said, swiftly leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He looked around for Misaki, but the teen was nowhere to be seen. It started to worry him quite a bit.

As he opened the front door, obsidian eyes greeted him.

"Aki-chan, what are you doing here?" the young woman asked, her tone flirtatious as she stared at him.

"It's been a while, Emi…" Akihiko didn't exactly like Emi; he found her way too clingy and he didn't fancy women to begin with. It didn't help that Jeff had told him about Emi's love affairs not too long ago.

"You sound as cold as ever," Emi pointed out, a smirk playing on her red lips, "Are you going somewhere? You're not about to leave yet, are you?" She placed a hand on Akihiko's shoulder and moved closer. "I was hoping you could stay a little longer."

Emi's advances were getting on Akihiko's nerves. "Actually, I—"

"Hello, my dearest." The author and the lady looked at the tall male standing in the doorway. "I didn't think you would be back so soon," Jeff stated, leaning against the doorway, "Didn't you say that you'd be home later?"

Black eyes twinkled happily as Emi walked towards her husband. "I lied," she said with a wink, "The reason why told you I'd be late is because I wanted to surprise you! Did you miss me?"

When Emi was about to embrace Jeff, Misaki carefully walked up from behind his master. The woman eyed him curiously and then looked back at her man. "Is he our new housekeeper?" she asked, not even questioning the fact that Misaki was wearing a maid uniform despite being male.

Jeff nodded at her and then turned his attention to Akihiko, whose phone started ringing. As the silver haired novelist answered, they could all hear a woman yell on the other side of the line. Akihiko emitted a loud sigh while his friend chuckled.

"I believe that's a sign for you to go back home," he pointed out, hearing Akihiko growl in irritation.

Akihiko's stare found Misaki, studying the brunet closely. As much as he wanted to talk to Misaki, he knew that it was none of his business. In fact, the author didn't even understand why he was so interested in the young housekeeper.

"…I'll be going now," Akihiko finally said, spinning around.

"Let's talk again soon," Emi said in a cheerful voice, not noticing the glare Jeff was sending in her direction, "Good luck with your novel, Aki-chan!" She waved enthusiastically until Akihiko had left and entered the mansion, leaving Misaki and Jeff behind.

Misaki looked at his master questioningly. "Is something wrong with Emi-sama?" he asked.

"She's probably angry at me for sending Akihiko away. I'm sure it has got nothing to do with you." The master walked back into the building and Misaki followed, closing the door behind them. "By the way, do you know where Lillian went? I'd like to have a word with her."

"I found a note that she wasn't feeling well, so I think she's still in her bedroom," Misaki replied, shivering as a breeze brushed against his thighs. He quickly grabbed his skirt and pulled it down, blushing as he wondered if Jeff had seen anything. When he looked up, however, his master had already disappeared. Misaki returned to the library to retrieve the teacups.

As the teen walked past the door to the lounge, someone called out to him.

"Excuse me, Takahashi-kun?" Misaki slowly entered the room and saw Emi was sitting on the sofa. "Would you mind bringing me something to drink?"

"I'll get you something right away. What would you like?"

"A cup of coffee is fine," the brunette replied, playing with her long, black hair, "Lillian bought some coffee beans last week. There should be enough left."

Misaki gave a nod and walked out, heading towards the kitchen. He put the tray with teacups down onto the counter and searched for the pack of coffee beans Emi had told him about. After pouring the beans into the coffee machine—which was equipped with a grinder—he placed a cup and pressed the button on the machine. It amazed him how easy it was to make coffee; back at home, he always had to grind the coffee beans himself before making coffee.

The brunet sighed softly to himself. Working in a house of a rich family sure was confusing, but he had already learned many things as well. Still, there were certain matters he simply couldn't understand, such as Jeff's way of thinking. Why had his master asked him to give head in front of Akihiko? More importantly, why would he want such a thing from him to begin with?

Perhaps Jeff was doing those things out of frustration. If Emi was really cheating on him, then Misaki could understand his reasoning a little, but it didn't explain why Jeff hadn't broken up with her yet. Besides, it was weird to ask another guy to pleasure you, not to mention in front of someone else!

Lost in his angry thoughts, Misaki failed to notice that another person had entered the kitchen. He jumped a little when a hand lightly touched his shoulder and turned around.

"Are you all right, Takahashi?"

"Oh, Lillian," Misaki replied in relief, "You startled me."

The kind lady frowned at him. "What's the matter? Were you thinking about something?"

"Well…yes." The teen scratched the bridge of his nose. Perhaps Lillian could tell him more about Jeff's and Emi's relationship. "Earlier, I heard master say that Emi-sama has been cheating on him. Do you know anything about that?"

Ocean blue eyes saddened slightly as Lillian took a step back, lowering her gaze to the ground. "Our master and mistress have been together for a couple of years now. Master moved to Japan after meeting the mistress and they started living together right away. They were so sweetly in love that it seemed as though they couldn't leave each other even for a second."

"What happened?"

Lillian looked up. "Mistress spent more time away from home because of work, and eventually master started accusing her of cheating on him. He's never said anything to her about it, but I can easily see it in his eyes whenever she flirts with another man. Then again, master has been straying from the righteous path as well."

Misaki tilted his head. "What do you mean? Has he cheated on Emi-sama?"

"Please don't tell this to anyone, but I believe master has been taking advantage of the female housekeepers that have worked here. He always hired young, attractive girls, and some of them weren't even suited for the tasks they were expected to complete. I felt like I was doing all the work while those girls just walked around being pretty."

Swallowing, Misaki brought his fist to his mouth. "Do you think that he…has had sex with those girls?" he asked carefully, hoping that Lillian wouldn't suspect anything because of the question.

A moment of silence interrupted the conversation before Lillian spoke again. "If you fear that master will do the same thing to you, you can rest assured," she said in a gentle voice, "I have known master for years and he has never been interested in men before."

'I wouldn't be so sure of that,' was the answer the boy formed in his head, but he didn't have the courage to speak those words. It would only cause suspicion on Lillian's behalf if he said it, and he didn't want her to find out about the earlier incident.

The smell of coffee had filled the kitchen and Lillian quickly took the cup and placed it on the tray. "I will take this to the mistress." She looked concerned. "You look very pale, Takahashi."

"D-do I? I'm feeling a bit under the weather right now."

"In that case, you should get some rest."

Misaki shook his head. "No, I need to help you out. I can't leave anything to you."

"You've already worked very hard, so I think you've done enough for today. I will tell master that you are resting."

There was no forcefulness behind Lillian's words, but somehow Misaki felt as though he couldn't protest. He was actually pretty tired and he needed some time to think about the events that had occurred.

"Good work today," Lillian said as she walked out of the kitchen. As footsteps grew softer, Misaki slowly made his way to his bedroom, passing the lounge room where Emi and Jeff were talking like they were the happiest couple in the world. He didn't understand the situation at all, but nothing could be done about that. All he could do was listen to the sweet lies the master and mistress told.

* * *

When the evening came, Misaki started to get ready to sleep. The curtains were already closed and a small lamp by his bedside lighted up the room. Misaki grabbed his pajamas and threw them on his bed while his other hand worked on taking off one of his stockings. He still felt itchy from wearing an outfit made for girls, but it was slowly becoming a bit more comfortable.

Peeling off the other stocking, Misaki's head snapped up when he heard someone knock on his door. "Who's there?" he asked, pausing in his undressing to prevent any awkward situations.

"Takahashi-kun, are you feeling any better?" It was Jeff's voice. "Lillian told me you weren't feeling very well."

"Oh, it's not that I'm ill or anything," Misaki replied, "I…simply needed some time alone."

The door opened slowly and Jeff walked in, moving closer to Misaki in graceful movements. The brunet took a step back, hesitantly staring at his approaching master, and fell onto the bed as he lost his balance. He shuddered when Jeff hovered over him.

"Are you scared of me?" the man asked suddenly, gently running a hand through his housekeeper's hair.

"N-no, but I'm confused…" Misaki admitted, averting his gaze, "Why did you order me to—"

"Emi has been cheating on me for years now and I'm growing tired of it. It's so frustrating that I lose faith in our relationship. That's why I'm trying to distract myself from that pain."

'That still doesn't explain anything,' the teen thought. "M-master, could you please not ask me to do that again? It's really embarrassing."

Jeff showed him a kind smile and got off him, pulling at his slightly wrinkled jacket. "I won't ask you again if that's what you want." Spinning around on his heels, he paced forward. "Have a good night, Takahashi-kun."

Misaki got up and bowed, smiling at the other. "Good night, master."

The door closed quietly, and Misaki felt relief well up. The conversation was awkward, but it had resulted into something good. His worries had been washed away in an instant, making it possible for him to have peaceful dreams. That was one thing less to worry about.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Bitter Truth

It was dark inside the bedroom when Misaki woke up from his slumber. Even though it wasn't time to get up yet, Misaki couldn't sleep anymore; for some reason, it felt as though something wasn't right. He tried to rub his eyes, but his attempts were futile as he couldn't move his hands. It was right then that he realized that something was holding them down, preventing them from moving.

Misaki opened his eyes further, trying to see what was going on. His eyesight was blurry and limited as he hadn't gotten used to the dark yet. As the teen tried to move his arms, he noticed that what kept his wrists together felt warm. It almost felt like someone was holding his wrists together with his hand.

'Wait, it can't be…' Misaki began to struggle more, flailing and kicking as he tried to get away, but he stopped when he felt weight on top of him. Squinting, he managed to recognize the shape of a male body on top of him.

"Sto—" A hand covered the brunet's mouth, making it impossible to cry out. As the man lowered himself, Misaki could see the features of a familiar face. Bluish eyes shone in the faint light that started filtering through the curtains, and Misaki panicked.

It was Jeff who had trapped him.

"Mnnn!"

Jeff smirked as he retracted the hand holding Misaki's wrists. "Stay quiet, Takahashi-kun," he whispered, grinning wolfishly when Misaki tried to pry his hand away from his mouth, "You wouldn't want to wake dear Lillian or Emi, would you?"

Instead of listening to his master, Misaki only began to struggle more. He soon realized that he was no match for Jeff's strength, but that wasn't enough to make him give up. His eyes widened when he noticed a piece of cloth Jeff took out of his pocket.

This couldn't be happening. Didn't Jeff make a promise to him?

Only for a moment, Misaki got the opportunity to inhale through his mouth, but he didn't have time to scream as the piece of cloth was pushed down his throat, nearly choking him. His hands were held together by Jeff's large hand before he drew out a second rag and tied it around the boy's thin wrists. The only thing Misaki could still do was kick, which had absolutely no effect.

Studying the other's face carefully, Misaki tried to read Jeff's thoughts. He had no idea what was going on inside of the man's head, but one thing was certain: it was no good. It wasn't possible that Jeff was actually going to…rape him?

'No, please,' the brunet pleaded in his head, 'Tell me I'm wrong. Please tell me that he is just playing with me.'

Not a single word fell from Jeff's lips. Instead, he merely stared at the squirming boy beneath him, who was obviously freaking out. The spark of sadism within Jeff found this incredibly amusing to watch, but another part of him was losing its patience.

Somehow, seeing that kind of vulnerability turned him on. It was a sick thought, but he didn't mind.

Lowering himself a bit more, Jeff placed his lips over Misaki's covered ones. He drew back just as quickly and ran his hand over Misaki's neck.

"I would love to kiss you if I could," he said with a wicked smile, "But I'm afraid you will cry out if I undo that rag. It's such a shame, really."

As anger boiled within him, Misaki growled into the cloth. Even though he was scared, the way Jeff was talking pissed him off. How could this man dare to do something so horrible to an innocent person? What had Misaki done wrong?

"I won't ask you again if that's what you want."

Realization hit Misaki when he tried to memorize what his master had promised. Jeff said that he wouldn't ask him to do something weird again, so did that mean that he was going to do whatever he wanted without Misaki's permission? Was that the hidden meaning behind his words? Thinking about it more only reawakened the fear. Clenching his eyes shut, Misaki desperately tried to make himself believe that he was having a nightmare.

However, upon opening his eyes, the teen saw Jeff's tall frame still towering over him.

Jeff's lips formed into another grin. "This isn't a dream, Takahashi-kun," he reassured, reading the boy's mind, "I can prove it…and I will."

"Mmnn!" Misaki's scream was muffled and ignored. His eyes widened in terror when Jeff unbuttoned his pajamas, letting the fabric fall to his sides. A hand ran over his chest, but the shivers only disgusted Misaki rather than arousing him. It wasn't normal to be touched by another guy like this, especially since he didn't want this to happen in the first place.

"I wonder if every part of your body is so fair and beautiful," Jeff whispered as his eyes stared intensively at the tanned skin beneath his fingers, "You know, you're really the first guy I've ever been attracted to. Before, I never would've believed that I would enjoy touching another man like this, but here I am." Pulling down Misaki's pajama bottoms and boxers, he squeezed the tip of Misaki's cock.

"Nnhh!" Trying to resist the pleasure, Misaki tossed his head to the side. He couldn't let this pervert's touch turn him on.

Still, it was not up to him to decide how his body responded to the sensations, and soon his manhood started to harden. The sight made Jeff chuckle darkly.

"It seems as though you are enjoying this as well, Takahashi-kun. What a naughty little maid."

Misaki felt even more disgusted by every word that left his master's lips. How a person could do something like this without feeling the tiniest bit of guilt was beyond him. Regardless of how much he respected and liked Jeff before, he currently hated the man.

Ignoring the glare Misaki sent him, Jeff brought his hands to his own trousers and undid the button. He was dressed in one of his suits and didn't bother taking of any other piece of clothing aside from his pants, which he pushed down along with his underwear. His cock was already hard, pre-cum spilling from the tip.

"You did a very good job yesterday, but I'm sure it will feel even better when I'm inside of you." Jeff pumped his erection a couple of times while he eyed Misaki's naked body. Then, he forced the brunet's legs apart and pressed the head against the entrance.

Misaki began to panic once more. Even though he had never had sex with another man before, he couldn't imagine that being fucked raw was something pleasurable. Besides, his mind was most certainly not ready for this. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, not wanting to look at the man on top of him. His silent pleas could not be heard because of the rag, leaving him with no other option than to pray that Jeff would stop.

Yet, in the back of his head, Misaki knew that his prayers were in vain.

A sharp pain coursed through the teen's body when the first inch of Jeff's cock was forced inside of him, stretching the ring of muscles around his opening. Misaki's body jerked, a hiss escaping him.

'Stop, please pull it out. I don't want this,' Misaki pleaded in his head. He felt so…so filthy. Not only was he having sex with another man, but it was also completely against his will. What had he done to deserve such a punishment?

Jeff was grinning hungrily, but the poor brunet failed to notice this as his eyes were closed from the intense pain. Large hands gripped Misaki's slender sides, sliding down his hips and squeezing the skin harshly.

"You're so tight, Takahashi-kun," he spoke hoarsely, "I love how you're clenching around me."

'Don't say that.'

Teeth found the skin of Misaki's chest and bit a patch of it, leaving a small red bite mark just below his right nipple. The boy wriggled and twisted as Jeff continued to leave bite marks and hickeys, moving to his belly and marring the delicate skin. It was as though he was showing Misaki that he was in charge and that the tA soft snicker could be heard and Misaki growled in irritation, but his breath turned quick when Jeff thrust inside him roughly, almost making him cry out. It felt like his inner walls were tearing, causing a strange stinging warmth to envelop within him. Perhaps it was because he was bleeding from the roughness of his master's actions. Misaki didn't know what to think anymore; he just wanted this to be over quickly.

However, unlike his victim, Jeff didn't mind taking his time. He loved the heat and softness and tried to bury himself as deep as possible into the little housekeeper's body. His tongue had replaced his teeth, licking the red and purple marks on Misaki's skin. Without a doubt, Jeff was admiring the brunet's entire being. He pounded into the teen faster, smirking against his skin.

Misaki could only faintly feel the burning down below; the pain had caused his nerves to go numb. Still, the shame he felt only grew with each movement his master made. There was no way Misaki could ever forget about this. No, this was going to haunt him, perhaps even for the rest of his life.

Jeff was leaving a scar that couldn't be ignored.

When a certain spot within him was pressured, Misaki felt a sudden spark of electricity shoot to his lower regions. It wasn't painful, but that made it all the more mortifying. Refusing to believe that he was actually starting to feel good, Misaki tried to ignore the intense impulses as Jeff continued to hit his prostate successfully.

Tears had filled Misaki's eyes and he was biting the rag in his mouth to restrain the moans that threatened to escape. There was no way in hell that he would give his master the idea that he was enjoying this. It didn't matter how eagerly his body was responding. It didn't mean a thing that Misaki's erection was as hard as could be and spilling colorless fluids. No matter what every part of his body was telling Jeff, Misaki hated what was happening to him.

Groaning in pleasure, Jeff let his eyes wander to Misaki's manhood before looking at the teen's face. "You're responding so shamelessly," he whispered teasingly, "Does it feel that good? Honestly, I never thought you were such a slut."

'Shut up! Stop talking and just go away!' Mentally screaming these words full of hatred, Misaki felt how Jeff's movements were becoming irregular and sloppier. It relieved him a bit as he knew that the man was about to cum. Yet, his fear didn't falter.

Jeff leaned down to get closer to Misaki. "Open your eyes," he ordered, "I want you to look at me."

Misaki shook his head in protest, but he couldn't help but obey when Jeff gave a deep, rough thrust. His wet eyes couldn't form clear eyesight because of all the tears, but Misaki could tell that Jeff was having a satisfied look on his face.

'This bastard…'

"You look absolutely wonderful like this," Jeff said, interrupting the boy's thoughts. He grew breathless as he moaned softly, biting his lip as he spilled his seed. The whiteness painted Misaki's walls, the foreign feeling making him shiver. Once he was done, Jeff sat up and slowly pulled out of him. As he noticed how the tears rolled down Misaki's cheeks, he smiled and stroked the teen's cheek.

"Takahashi-kun, don't you ever forget what I did to you this morning."

The words reached Misaki's ears, yet he didn't quite get the message. It didn't really matter anyway, as it was not possible to erase these memories from his mind.

Accepting the silence as a positive response, Jeff undid the rag around Misaki's wrists. The brunet's arms didn't move and nothing happened when the man took the other piece of cloth out of Misaki's mouth. The teen only lay there, silently crying as his body was exhausted and numb from what his master had put him through.

With a final, short kiss on the lips, Jeff got off the bed and redid his trousers. He spared his victim one last glance before he left the room, leaving him there like a broken porcelain doll.

This had gone way too far. When Misaki applied for the job, being raped by his own master was the last thing he'd expected. If he knew, he never would've agreed on working there, but there was no way to turn back time and undo what had been done.

Misaki knew he was in danger. Choosing to work for Jeff any longer would only result into more rape, and perhaps even worse—although he currently couldn't think of anything worse than to be raped. Nevertheless, it was time for him to stand up for himself and get out of that cursed place.

There was only this one problem that got in the way. Quitting his job meant that Misaki had to go see his employer and tell him he refused to work for him any longer. In other words, he would have to go talk to Jeff, something he wasn't exactly looking forward to after recent events. He knew very well that it was his only way out, but what if his master decided to keep him as a hostage?

Cleaning his cheeks with the back of his hand, Misaki sat up and took a deep breath, but it automatically turned into a sob. Trying to calm himself down would be futile; he was still too horrified by what Jeff had done to him.

The fear crawled under Misaki's skin as he thought about running away and getting caught by his master. Leaving without a proper goodbye wasn't an option and he knew this very well. However, whenever he thought about talking to Jeff about quitting his job, he could feel his eyes sting with fresh tears. He felt trapped inside this room and the horrible memories it held.

Then, a knock on the door could be heard. Misaki's bloodshot eyes darted up, staring at the door fearfully. His lips parted to speak, but the teen chose to remain silent, hoping that whoever was knocking would leave him alone.

"Takahashi?"

Misaki breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized Lillian's voice. "Yes, Lillian?" he asked softly, trying to hide the crack in his voice.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Apparently, Lillian was thinking of something, but eventually she opened the door. The light from the hallway entered the bedroom. When the lady found Misaki on the bed, shock was written all over her face. She ran to the bed in panic and gently laid a hand on the other's shoulder.

"My goodness, what happened to you?"

The brunet didn't speak and lowered his gaze. He was ashamed that Lillian had to see him like this. Although he knew she was kind and caring, it was still embarrassing beyond measure.

Lillian's eyes scanned the hickeys and bite marks on Misaki's body, looking at him worriedly. She turned her attention back to the teen's face, but couldn't gain eye contact as his mossy orbs were hidden under his bangs.

"Takahashi, please tell me what happened."

Misaki finally looked at her and tried to speak. He wanted to tell her what happened despite how he felt, but the words couldn't come out. Instead, only sobs and unintelligible words fell from his lips. His eyes brimmed with tears again.

The look on Lillian's face turned gentle, quite motherly even, and she sat down on the bed next to the boy. Pulling him to her chest, she carefully stroked his hair and held him close.

"It's all right," she whispered soothingly, "I'm here and you're safe with me."

"L-Lillian…" Misaki muttered in a weak voice as he grasped the back of her maid uniform. The warmth of the woman's body comforted him, just like the soft hand on the back of his head. Although he was still scared, he felt secure and safe in Lillian's hands.

After a moment of holding the boy and listening to his ragged breathing and soft whimpers, Lillian pulled back to look at him.

"Did master do this to you?" she asked uncertainly. Her expression was calm and patient, but there was a hint of fright in her voice.

"…Yes."

Sadness filled the maid's eyes as she released the trembling teen. "I'm very sorry you had to go through something so terrible," she apologized sincerely, "I had no idea that master was forcing his housekeepers into sex and I most certainly didn't expect him to do that to a guy." The sound of her voice made it obvious that she felt guilty. Misaki wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, but he still had trouble speaking properly. His throat hurt like hell from all the crying.

Lillian rose from the bed and walked back to the door. "I will go speak to master and confront him," she assured, "Please put on your normal clothes, Takahashi. I will arrange your resignation; it's not safe for you to stay here any longer." Turning the doorknob, she left the room and walked away.

Misaki stared at the door momentarily, both relieved and scared after Lillian's words. It made him happy to know that Lillian cared so much about his well-being and safety, but at the same time he feared for hers. After the terrible event from that morning, Misaki couldn't tell what kind of person Jeff really was. Perhaps his kindness was only a mask for his aggressive and abusive personality. The brunet didn't want Lillian to get hurt for his sake. He had to make sure she would be all right.

Climbing out of the bed, Misaki felt a painful sting in his hips. He tried to ignore the pain and walked over to the large wardrobe, looking for something to wear. In all honesty, he really wanted to take a shower to clean himself up, but decided against it. Swiftly, he pulled a pair of jeans and a green shirt out of the closet, along with clean underwear and socks, and threw them on.

Thoughts of what to tell Takahiro flew through his head. It had only been a few days since he had started working for Jeff, so he didn't know how to explain to his brother that he had quit his job. The one thing he did know was that he would definitely not tell Takahiro about the rape. He didn't want his brother to worry about him so much and there was nothing he could do to help it. It was all in the past; the damage was done.

The best excuse he could come up with was that he got fired by his master, or that he couldn't adjust to the different lifestyle. Either way, he was going to have to convince Takahiro he was okay and pretend nothing had happened. He would have to hide the scars his master had left for as long as possible.

Someone yelled loudly and Misaki jumped at the sudden sound, unaware of what was happening outside of his room. The voice he could hear was a woman's voice, but it didn't sound like Lillian's. It sounded like Emi was throwing a tantrum.

Misaki listened closely for another minute before he decided to check what was going on. With a shaking hand, he opened the door and got out of his bedroom. There was no one in the corridor and the sound appeared to be coming from the ground floor.

'Emi-sama sounds angry,' the teen noted in his head. Although he couldn't hear what she was saying, the volume and tone of her voice were enough for him to conclude that something had pissed her off.

Hesitantly, Misaki made his way to the staircase and slowly descended the stairs. The hall was also empty and the sound of Emi's voice was coming from the West Wing. When he went there, he found the master and mistress of the house in the lounge, arguing with one another. Lillian was standing next to the couple and simply listened to them, not taking action in any way.

As Misaki stood in the doorway, the maid spotted him and beckoned. She wanted him to come closer, but Misaki held the doorframe tightly, not wishing to be in the same room as the man who had bruised and broken him. He watched as Lillian slowly approached.

Suddenly, Emi and Jeff stopped arguing and looked his way.

"Lillian, what's going on?" Misaki asked carefully as the kind lady touched his shoulder.

"I just informed the mistress and she is rather dissatisfied with the news."

"That, my dear Lillian, is an understatement," Emi responded immediately, "I was aware of Jeff's habit to cheat on me with his housekeepers, but never would I have expected him to actually go as far as to force them. Bribing them was what I had in mind, but not this."

While his wife kept chattering and chiding, Jeff gave Misaki a desperate look.

"Takahashi-kun—"

"Don't you even dare speak to him!" Emi spat angrily, "You have already made him suffer enough." She glared at him before her gaze returned to her housekeepers. "Lillian, please go upstairs and pack Misaki's bags."

"Yes, mistress." Lillian bowed obediently and flashed Misaki a sweet smile as if to ensure his safety.

"This is the last day you will be working here, Lillian." Jeff had managed to shut his wife up and was shooting daggers at the maid. "I didn't think you would ever betray me, but here we are. I'm disappointed in you."

"Excuse me, master, but I would rather be righteous and protect others from you than to force myself into silence and have to carry the unbearable weight of an everlasting guilt." With that, Lillian turned away and left the room.

The tension in the room had only become worse and it made Misaki very uncomfortable. Without the other housekeeper close to him, he felt vulnerable and unprotected. It was fortunate that Emi was still in the room, as she didn't seem to want her man anywhere near the poor brunet.

Emi eyed Misaki emotionlessly and then looked at Jeff. Her expression changed to a proud and confident one.

"Lillian doesn't have to fear losing her job, because I will take her with me." She folded her arms as she said this, earning a look of surprise from her husband.

"Since when do you have a say in who works here?"

"You don't get it, do you? I'm leaving you, Jeff." Emi gave her hair a deft flip and took a step forward. "Since you'd rather please yourself in a way I cannot tolerate, I do not wish to live with you any longer. I will move out with Lillian and you are not going to stop me."

Jeff gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping him. He turned around to break eye contact with the woman.

"Do as you please," he said in English, "I don't need a worthless slut like you anyway."

Misaki didn't understand what his master was saying to Emi, but he could tell from the way the other glared that it was something negative. When Emi grabbed her husband's shoulder and slapped him across the face, Misaki froze in utter shock. His eyes followed her movements as she walked away from the man and paused in front of him.

"Let's go, Takahashi-kun," she said, "I will see you out."

Without further complaint, Misaki got himself together and followed her to the front door of the mansion. He was asked to wait there while Emi went outside to talk to one of the drivers. In the meantime, Lillian returned with the teen's two suitcases.

"I think I have packed everything, but you're free to check if something's missing," she said as she put the luggage down.

"Thank you, Lillian."

Emi came back in, followed by a driver in uniform. She glanced at Lillian and nodded. In response, the maid left the hall and made her way to the kitchen. Once she was gone, the mistress focused on Misaki again.

"Are you ready to leave?" she asked him, her tone a lot gentler than before.

Misaki nodded shyly. "Yes, I am. Thank you very much for helping me."

"There's no need for you to thank me," the lady replied, "Frankly, I feel like I should be apologizing to you for what Jeff has done to you. I know my words can never change what happened, but please know that I am truly sorry."

Upon hearing the honest apology, Misaki felt a mild blush dust his cheeks. "I-it's fine, Emi-sama. You didn't know any of this, so I'm not blaming you."

The woman merely smiled at him and then ordered the driver to put Misaki's belongings in the trunk. She bid the boy farewell and stood by the door as he made his way to the car. Misaki stepped into the vehicle and put on his seatbelt, staring out of his window. His eyes found Emi and he looked at her with a pained expression in his eyes.

A feeling of guilt struck the brunet as the car began to move. He had left Lillian and Emi behind with the man who had scarred him and couldn't stop worrying about them. If Jeff was as heartless to them as he'd been to Misaki, then it was possible he would harm the two women as well. Misaki didn't want to be the blame of this; he had already done enough.

While the ride continued, Misaki began to think more about what had occurred. Within those three days he had worked for the Honda family, his master had forced him to wear a maid uniform, give him a blowjob in front of a stranger, and he had even had sex with him against his will. Putting that aside, Misaki had also ruined the relationship between Emi and Jeff and destroyed their household. Needless to say, he wasn't feeling a lot better than before.

Misaki sighed softly. At least he was away from Jeff, which meant that he was safe again. If he'd had to stay at the Honda Estate any longer, he had probably lost his mind. It was a place full of memories he wanted to leave behind, even though he knew it was impossible.

He only prayed that the pain could be forgotten someday.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Home to Hide

The ride home was awfully uncomfortable, so Misaki was more than happy when they finally reached Takahiro's apartment. He got out quickly while the driver retrieved his luggage and brought it to the front door. They walked there together and Misaki thanked the driver for everything, watching the man return to his car and drive away. Then, with a sigh, he turned back to the door. Slowly, he dug his hand into his pocket and searched for his spare key.

While his fingers roamed around, Misaki felt his body tremble with nervousness. He still wasn't entirely ready to face his brother and explain to him—or rather, lie—why he had come home and lost his job. Telling Takahiro he'd been fired didn't seem like a very believable excuse, mainly because he had worked for only a couple of days. That automatically meant that he was left with no other option than to pretend he couldn't adapt to the new circumstances.

Something cold touched Misaki's skin as he found the key. Pulling it out of his pocket, he carefully unlocked the door in hopes to be quiet. Hopefully, Takahiro was somewhere upstairs so he wouldn't hear him.

Misaki's hopes were shattered as he opened the door and noticed his brother standing in the hallway.

"Ah, Misaki," Takahiro said, surprise lacing his voice, "I didn't think you would come to visit me so soon."

"Nii-chan…" Misaki was about to explain, but stopped himself when brown eyes studied the suitcases on either side of him. He could see the confusion on Takahiro's face before he regained eye contact.

"Why did you bring all of your stuff back here? Did something happen?"

The heat outside was slowly becoming unbearable, so Misaki quickly lifted the suitcases, walked into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Not meeting his brother's gaze, he kicked of his shoes and left them in the genkan.

Takahiro didn't speak when Misaki passed him and followed the teen to the living room. There was something wrong with his younger brother, but the only thing he could think of was that Misaki had lost his job. He saw the boy walk to the kitchen and open the refrigerator.

"Misaki, you aren't ignoring me, are you?" Takahiro asked worriedly, wondering if something was bothering Misaki.

"N-no Nii-chan, I'm just hungry; I haven't had breakfast yet and it's almost time for lunch."

"You shouldn't skip breakfast, Misaki. That's unhealthy. Anyway, you didn't answer my question from before." Walking to the kitchen, Takahiro leaned against the counter and folded his arms. "Why have you come back so suddenly? I thought you were going to work there until summer break is over."

"I just…didn't like the atmosphere there," Misaki replied without looking at his brother, "The Honda family lives in a house that made me feel lonely. The feeling of not belonging there kept gnawing at me the entire time." It wasn't completely a lie; Misaki didn't feel very comfortable at the Honda Estate, even though Lillian and Jeff tried to make him feel at home. It was very unfortunate that Jeff's kindness only lasted for a while.

When Takahiro said nothing, Misaki concluded that the man believed his answer and carefully glanced over his shoulder. Takahiro was no longer looking at him, but seemed to be staring into nothingness. What was he thinking of?

"Oh, a good friend of mine is coming over today," Takahiro suddenly announced, "I didn't expect you to come home today, so I invited him over."

"That's okay," Misaki assured him as he brought the ingredients to the counter, "Don't mind me. I can eat upstairs if you think I'll be in the way here."

Takahiro frowned. "Why would you be in the way? Don't be ridiculous, Misaki." He patted the teen's back and stepped out of the kitchen, glancing at the clock. "It won't be long now. I don't think you've ever talked to him properly, but the two of you have met before."

"When was that?"

"At our parents' funeral…"

Misaki bit his lip harshly, cursing himself mentally for asking that question. He had already returned with bad news, so Takahiro was probably feeling a bit down. Talking about their parents wouldn't lighten up the mood. Deciding not to open his mouth again, Misaki quickly began to make himself a simple meal. His stomach was growling softly, causing him to blush. Skipping breakfast wasn't something he often did, especially since Takahiro always made sure he ate all of his meals. Sometimes, it made him feel like a child again.

Throughout the years, Misaki had tried to become more independent so he wouldn't have to rely on his brother anymore. He believed Takahiro had already done too much for him by raising him like a father and sacrificing his dreams. In addition, Misaki wanted to contribute to the family as well. Applying for a job to earn money had been one of his ideas, but that didn't turn out too well.

With a sigh, Misaki poked an egg with the chopsticks he was holding. The idea of going back to Jeff and offering to work for him again was out of the question. In fact, Misaki was sure he would be too scared to face the man alone and without Lillian he wouldn't last a single day there. The only option the brunet had was to look for more job offers in newspapers and on the internet, but he wasn't too confident about that either.

The doorbell rang and Takahiro ran towards the front door, a lot more excited than Misaki expected. Whoever this friend of his was had to be a very special person, because his brother hardly ever got that excited when they had visitors. Perhaps they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

As the door opened, Misaki could hear Takahiro greet the other cheerfully. He let his friend in and shut the door. Footsteps sounded as the two walked to the living room area, until one of the men abruptly stopped.

"What's he doing here?"

Misaki looked up as he recognized the voice. It was most certainly not his brother's, but he was sure he had heard it before. As his gaze traveled towards the couch, he was met with a lavender stare.

'Why in the world is he here?' Misaki wondered as the great author cocked his head.

Takahiro stood between the two with a confused look in his eyes. "Usagi, you remember Misaki, don't you?"

"Yes, but I thought he was working for the Honda family at the moment," Akihiko replied, directing his eyes upon his friend, "I wasn't expecting to run into him here, not after seeing him yesterday."

"Oh, so the two of you have already talked to one another?"

"Hardly. Jeff knows how to keep his housekeepers busy. I can hardly imagine that your brother has time to visit you when he's got so much work to do." The tone in Akihiko's voice was emotionless, just like the look he was giving Misaki. The eye contact made the teen feel uncomfortable, so he swiftly averted his gaze and pretended to focus on cooking his meal.

"Usagi, Misaki doesn't work there anymore," Takahiro explained, "He says he didn't like the atmosphere there."

Enveloped by silence, Akihiko dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers. While Takahiro walked to the kitchen to pour him a cup of coffee, the novelist kept his eyes on the young brunet. The boy looked very different in his casual clothes, but the image of him in a maid costume was still fresh in Akihiko's mind. He wondered what had caused Misaki to either lose or quit his job.

It was unclear to the man why he was so interested in Misaki. Back at the Honda Estate, he had felt the same curiosity, and the feeling was only becoming stronger. Misaki was Takahiro's younger brother, but Akihiko had never been interested in him before. He assumed it had something to do with what he had witnessed back at Jeff's house.

"Misaki, are you still looking for a job?" Akihiko asked. He could see Misaki struggle for a moment before looking at him. The brunet nodded slowly, as though he was uncertain. "I could really use a housekeeper, in case you're interested."

Takahiro quickly waved his hands. "Usagi, you don't have to do that for us! You've never had a housekeeper before and I can see you're just saying this to help Misaki, but you don't have to drag yourself into this."

"What if I do need a housekeeper?"

"Why would you suddenly need one if you have lived by yourself for years?"

"I've been busy with work, so it's hard to do the chores around the house since I have too little time on my hands."

It looked like Takahiro wanted to say something, but he kept quiet and glanced at Misaki. When his brother got a job at the Honda Estate, Misaki had been so excited about it. Takahiro didn't want to throw this opportunity away and ruin his chances.

He did not know that Misaki wasn't all too pleased with the offer himself.

Misaki was tearing his lower lip with his teeth in frustration as he tried to make up his mind. After everything Akihiko had seen back at Jeff's house, Misaki found it hard to look him in the eye without remembering that embarrassing moment. Furthermore, he did not know if the man's intentions were as impure as the ones of his previous master and he was not looking forward to being raped again.

On the other hand, however, Misaki felt obliged to keep the promise he had made to himself about earning the money he needed for his tuition fees. If Akihiko made him an offer himself, what could be the harm of accepting it and see what he could make of it? Perhaps Akihiko wasn't as bad as Jeff, although his attitude didn't seem exactly refreshing to Misaki.

'It's worth a try,' the teen told himself, 'If he mistreats me, I can just threaten to reveal that to Nii-chan. He wouldn't want to risk their friendship over me…I suppose.' Misaki didn't want to destroy Takahiro's friendship with Akihiko, but it was a way to make sure that he wouldn't be manhandled again.

"All right," Misaki said, gaining Akihiko's attention, "Thank you for offering me a job. When would you like me to start working for you?"

Akihiko took a step forward. "You can go with me once you've finished your food," he replied.

"Are the two of you sure about this?" Takahiro asked uncertainly.

"Is that a problem, Takahiro?"

"No, not at all! If you're okay with it, then it's fine, Usagi."

A smile crossed Akihiko's features, causing Misaki to frown. He found it very strange to see the author act so friendly towards his brother compared to the cold attitude he had given the boy back at the Honda Estate. Furthermore, there was something suspicious about the look in Akihiko's eyes. He looked at Takahiro like he was the most precious person in the world to him.

Misaki remembered the conversation Akihiko and Jeff had the previous day. His ex-master mentioned something about a one-sided love, but did that mean that Akihiko was in love with Takahiro? It would explain why he was so eager to help them out by asking Misaki to work for him.

'If he thinks he can reel Nii-chan in by being nice to me, he's very wrong,' Misaki thought. His brother had never been interested in men before and he was always talking about getting a girlfriend and starting a family. It would take a miracle to turn Takahiro gay. With this in mind, Misaki finished his cooking and threw the omelet he made on a plate. As he walked to the dining table, he mentally prepared himself for what was about to come.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Hiding Scars

After eating his food and getting his bag, Misaki had bid his brother farewell and left with Akihiko. Upon spotting the man's red sports car, Misaki concluded that Akihiko was just as rich as Jeff, which didn't reassure him. By then, he had begun to believe that rich people thought they could do as they pleased, even though he had barely met anyone rich aside from the Honda family.

Misaki wasn't a pessimist by nature, but the rape had made something click in his mind. No matter how kind someone was to him, the brunet wouldn't trust anyone so blindly. He was afraid; if he wasn't careful enough, the same thing was bound to happen. There was no way Misaki could handle going through something so terrible again.

All of the memories came back to haunt him. The sight of Jeff on top of him, looking at him with that sadistic smirk on his face, was already scary enough, but it didn't stop there. Misaki could even feel that man's hands touching his body as though it was happening a second time. Back when it did happen, it made him feel disgusting and terrified, and those feelings hadn't changed one bit.

The thoughts nearly made Misaki throw up, but at the same time his eyes began to sting. Turning his head away, he tried to hide it from Akihiko, not wanting him to see the tears if he was actually going to cry. Most certainly, Misaki felt like letting it all come out.

Akihiko's hold on the steering wheel was loose as he waited for the traffic light to turn green. His eyes darted to Misaki every now and then, studying his movements. The teen was acting rather strange.

"What's bothering you?" Akihiko asked, glancing at the traffic light impatiently, "I can tell you're feeling uneasy."

"I'm fine," came as a short reply.

"You don't look fine. Shouldn't you be happy that you've gotten another offer for a job? Or are you feeling homesick after working for Jeff?"

Misaki scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous," he replied, "I've only worked there for a couple of days. There's no way I'd get homesick so soon. Besides, I wanted to look for a job myself; Nii-chan didn't even know I was looking for a job until I told him I had been hired."

The light turned to a bright green and Akihiko stepped on the gas. The car practically shot forward, causing Misaki to grip the edge of his seat as he was startled by the sudden impact. Nevertheless, he did not look away from the window.

"Why are you so desperate to find yourself a job anyway? What do you need the money for?"

"I'll be in college next year, so I need it for my tuition fees." Misaki finally looked at the other man. "I don't think you'd understand the trouble of having to work hard. In addition, you don't have to help me just because you've got a fat wallet."

"That's not the reason for me to help you," Akihiko argued.

"No, it's because you want to impress Nii-chan, isn't it? You want to look good in front of him so he will like you even more than he already does. That's disgusting."

"Since when do you decide why I'm doing this?"

Although Misaki was angry at Akihiko, he decided to say no more. It probably wasn't a good idea to get into a fight with his new 'master' on the first day. Still, he wouldn't accept Akihiko to use him for strengthening his bond with Takahiro.

Neither of the two spoke until they arrived at their destination. As Misaki looked out of the window, his jaw dropped. They were in one of the best districts in all of Tokyo. It wouldn't surprise him if the houses here were as expensive as the Honda Estate.

"This is where you live?" he asked.

"Yes, it is." Akihiko seemed to have forgotten about their little disagreement. He drove into the parking garage and parked his car. Misaki undid his seatbelt and got out first, but Akihiko soon followed. The man walked to the back and opened the trunk to get Misaki's luggage. He started lifting the suitcases as the younger male came rushing to him.

"I can carry my luggage," Misaki said, "You don't have to do that for me." Despite his protests, Akihiko took one of the suitcases.

"I live on the top floor of this building," Akihiko replied. It was all he said, as though that was all he needed to convince Misaki. Much to the man's satisfaction, the teen didn't reply and picked up the other suitcase before shutting the trunk. With a simple click on the button, Akihiko locked the car.

An elevator brought the men to the right floor. It took a while to get there, given that the building had quite a lot of floors, but the doors finally opened and Akihiko and Misaki got out. There were a couple of doors on the left, which made Misaki wonder where Akihiko lived. He followed the man to the first door on the left and waited for him to unlock the door.

"Usagi-san," Misaki said in a soft voice while Akihiko looked for his key, "Why exactly are you helping me?"

"I don't really know. You sparked my interest back at Jeff's place, so I suppose I want to know more about you. Furthermore, this is the only way for you to earn the money you need, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is…" Although there wasn't a clear meaning behind Akihiko's words, Misaki couldn't help but think back to that one time that Jeff forced him to do something sexual and humiliating while Akihiko was watching them. Was that why he had been offered a new job? Misaki wasn't planning on doing the same for Akihiko; the first time had been bad enough already.

'Maybe he really is a pervert like Honda-san,' Misaki thought, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The door opened and Akihiko stepped aside, allowing the other to enter. "This is my home," he said, not particularly caring about Misaki's reaction, "As you can see, it's a bit messy here."

Misaki stared in disbelief at the warzone in front of him. "'A bit messy', you say? When's the last time you cleaned this place up?"

"I'm not sure."

All that came to mind was the question how Akihiko managed to live by himself in a house so unstructured and filthy. This man was one of Takahiro's closest friends? How in the world was that even possible?

With a frustrated sigh, Misaki walked in, dropped his luggage, and began picking up the books that were scattered all over the floor. Each one of them was covered in a thick layer of dust, proving that they had been there for a long time. Misaki sneezed as he got up and then turned around to face his new master.

"Do you happen to have a vacuum cleaner?"

"It should be in the room on the right, I think." Akihiko didn't sound too sure of his own answer. "Actually, I haven't used it for a while, so it could be anywhere. Well, it looks like you've already got a task. I've got some errands to run as well, so I won't disturb you while you're working."

"Are you joking? This will take hours!"

"You've got the whole afternoon to yourself. Now then, have fun." With that, Akihiko put the suitcase down and closed the door, leaving his housekeeper behind in the mess he'd made.

Misaki looked around lifelessly, wondering what he had gotten himself into. It was already a tough job to clean the Honda Estate, even though that house was very clean compared to this. What on Earth had Akihiko done to make it look like this anyways?

'Never mind that,' Misaki said to himself, 'I better get started now or I'll be cleaning until midnight.' He began walking around the apartment, looking for something to clean with, and eventually found a vacuum cleaner and a feather duster in what appeared to be a storage room. With a final, deep breath, Misaki began cleaning the lower floor of the condominium.

About three hours later, Misaki collapsed on the sofa, groaning loudly. Having to clean everything so thoroughly was exhausting and he hadn't even done the upper level yet. Too tired to do any more, he decided to stay there and get a bit of rest. He could finish cleaning tomorrow; it wasn't like Akihiko really cared what his house looked like.

Misaki wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and stared at the ceiling. His eyes lazily fixed on the door when the lock clicked. Akihiko walked in with a bag in his hand, approaching the brunet on the couch.

"Are you already slacking off?" Akihiko asked mockingly, dropping the bag on Misaki's stomach.

"No, I'm just tired. Do you have any idea how long it took to get everything clean? How in the world did you make such a mess all by yourself?"

Akihiko seemed to ignore his question. "I bought you something." He dug his hand into the bag and pulled out something black. Misaki couldn't figure out what it was until Akihiko unfolded the fabric and showed him something Misaki didn't want to see.

It was another short, girly maid uniform.

"No way in hell."

Displeased with the response, Akihiko grasped the bag and threw it on the ground. "Why not? You wore one at the Honda Estate as well, so you shouldn't have any problems wearing one again."

"I didn't put it on for fun!" Misaki protested, "Honda-san told me there were no male uniforms, so I was forced to wear it."

"Like I told you before, he was just using that as an excuse. You could have declined if you really didn't want to, but you put it on nonetheless. That must mean that it either didn't bother you or you like embarrassing yourself in front of others. Although, I think the latter is kind of unlikely."

"As if! Why do you want me to put this on in the first place?"

"Because I think it looks good on you," Akihiko admitted.

Misaki gritted his teeth. "So you're just as perverted as him. I should've known. At any rate, I'm not going to wear that damn dress, so you can forget about acting out your perverted fantasies."

The room fell silent for a moment. There was a determined, stubborn look in Misaki's eyes that seemed to pierce Akihiko's soul, but it failed to impress or intimidate the older man. Instead of being surprised, he merely folded his arms and took a step back.

"You sure are judgmental for someone who doesn't know me at all," Akihiko replied, obviously irritated, "I've got work to do. Call me when dinner's ready." With a quick spin, he moved away from the sofa and moved upstairs, disappearing into one of the many rooms.

As he sat up, Misaki glared at the door of the room Akihiko had entered. Who the hell did that guy think he was? He had no right to force Misaki into wearing something feminine, or did he? Honestly, the young brunet wasn't so sure anymore after the things Akihiko had said. It would be a bit unfair to refuse putting on a uniform while he had done so when he worked for the Honda family. On the other hand, Misaki really didn't want to walk around wearing something so humiliating again.

Telling himself to get back to work and prepare dinner, Misaki got up from the couch and dragged himself to the kitchen. There weren't a lot of ingredients in the refrigerator, but there was enough to make karasumi and daikon pasta. Taking everything he needed, he closed the door of the refrigerator with his elbow and opened the kitchen cabinets to get the pots and pans he needed. Once he had everything he needed, Misaki threw on an apron and started cooking, trying to forget about the bad things that had happened in the past few days.

* * *

A delicious smell wafted through the penthouse as Misaki turned off the stove. Dinner was all ready and he was quite satisfied with the result. Karasumi and daikon pasta was a dish he hadn't prepared very often, so he was glad to be able to remember the recipe. It looked pretty good too, in his honest opinion. Hopefully his master would think the same.

Misaki took off his apron, a little irritated by his thoughts. His pride had been damaged so much in a matter of days that he was even considering Akihiko his new master already. He glanced at the maid costume, which was lying on the sofa. What did it matter if he put on that dress? It wasn't like he had any reason to be ashamed anymore. After all, hadn't he become a simple, shameless housekeeper already?

In a futile attempt to push these thoughts away, Misaki began to understand that the events back at the Honda Estate had affected him greatly, but not in a good way. He had always blamed himself for his parents' death and recently he had started to blame himself for other things as well. That hardly happened to him.

'I need to forget about it,' Misaki told himself, 'Regardless of what happened, I need to move on. Sulking won't solve anything.' Glancing at the sofa, he glared hatefully at the costume. 'I should give him a chance, but…it's scary. How do I know that he won't molest me too?'

In the end, the brunet decided to take the risk, mainly because he felt guilty for mistrusting Akihiko. It wasn't anything he could change, but if his master could show him how harmless he was, then Misaki would eventually learn to trust him. These thoughts gave Misaki more confidence in what he was about to do. He walked to the couch and began to quickly change into the costume.

As if to sense something was going on, Akihiko suddenly got out of his office, only to see Misaki downstairs in nothing but his underwear. The teen, who was in the middle of changing his clothes, looked up as he heard a door open and tensed when he noticed his master. He quickly stepped back with horror written all over his face. It was official that Akihiko had the worst timing ever.

Misaki didn't know what to do next, so he tried to cover his practically naked appearance by holding the dress against his body. His eyes kept following the man's movements as Akihiko walked down the stairs, approaching him. Their gazes locked, but there was no emotion to be read in those small orbs of violet.

The faint sound of footsteps could be heard as Akihiko kept moving forward, until he had reached the sofa. Misaki had fallen back as he tried to get away. He was trapped between the couch and his master. His eyes were clenched shut as Akihiko's hand moved to Misaki's wrist, tugging it.

"N-no, stop!"

Desperate protests were ignored, which only scared Misaki further. When Akihiko succeeded in snatching the uniform out of Misaki's grasp, the brunet was entirely exposed. No words were spoken while the author leaned closer, his warm breath making Misaki's skin prickle. A large, cold hand was placed on the younger male's chest, moving around very slowly.

Panic began to conquer Misaki's mind once more. He tried to pry Akihiko's hand away, but it only made things worse as the man locked both of his wrists in his free hand, leaving him with no possibility to protect himself. Furthermore, the situation reminded him of the time Jeff raped him. He tried to convince himself that this was different, but the way Akihiko touched him was too similar.

"Stop, please…"

Again, Akihiko said nothing.

"Don't do this," Misaki pleaded, his voice cracking as he spoke. The images of that morning returned, so clearly that it almost seemed real. Misaki saw his old master again, hovering over him, touching his body with that grin on his face. It was disgusting, but most all…it was terrifying.

Soft sobs reached Akihiko's ears, taking him completely by surprise. He drew back and released Misaki's hands, but the latter did not look at him. The sobs grew louder and soon a tear fell caught the author's attention.

"Misaki, what's wrong?" Akihiko asked, sounding confused. When he met a pair of puffy, red eyes, his confusion only grew.

"I-I'll tell you what's wrong!" Misaki yelled in reply, his voice completely broken, "You can't just touch me and expect me to be okay with it. I'm not Nii-chan's replacement, so don't try to use me to satisfy your perverted fantasies, you filthy homo!"

Akihiko's expression turned venomous. "What did you say?" His hands took hold of Misaki's once more, pressing them against the backrest. "Listen, I didn't offer you a job to get yelled at. If you don't work on your attitude, I will kick you out soon enough."

The words didn't seem to get through; Misaki was tossing his head from side to side and struggling to break free. Tears rolled down his face as his cheeks reddened.

"No, stop it!"

Hearing the utter panic in the brunet's voice, Akihiko began to worry. "Misaki, what are you talking about?" he asked, but Misaki didn't answer, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Let go!"

Not knowing what to do, Akihiko slowly let go of Misaki's wrists. As soon as he did so, Misaki jumped up and ran away. He climbed the stairs, almost tripping over the steps, and rushed into a random room. The door slammed shut behind him before the condo fell silent again.

Amethyst eyes glanced at the clothes lying on the floor, along with the uniform Misaki was supposed to wear. The response was far from what Akihiko had expected. He didn't think Misaki would freak out because of a few simple touches, but it turned out he was wrong. Still, it was a mystery to him why his housekeeper had reacted in such a way. Misaki didn't seem to be scared of him when they first met.

What bothered Akihiko more were the marks he noticed. Misaki's body appeared to be covered in bite and scratch marks, along with a couple of bruises. He couldn't figure out who did that to him, but a simple question popped up in his mind.

What happened between Jeff and Misaki?

The room Misaki had entered turned out to be a guest room. It relieved Misaki a bit to know that he hadn't accidentally run into Akihiko's bedroom, as he knew he wouldn't be able to stay in there forever. In slow movements, he walked to the bed and sat down.

In the back of his head, Misaki was still thinking about Jeff. The images were lingering there, driving him insane. He should've known better than to change in the middle of the living room. Why had he been so stupid to grant Akihiko another chance? Obviously, that man was just as bad as his previous master. The only difference was that Akihiko didn't pretend to be nice.

'Even so, he stopped when I started crying. What does that mean?'

Misaki was indescribably confused by Akihiko's actions. If the guy really wanted to rape him, he would have continued. That didn't explain why he began touching the poor, defenseless teen in the first place. Was he trying to take his time? Could it be that Akihiko was simply waiting for the right moment to strike?

'Is it…safe for me to stay here?' Misaki wondered. It wasn't too late to return to Takahiro's place, but Misaki wasn't entirely sure if that was the right thing to do. After all, Akihiko had technically not done anything yet.

Hugging his own body, the teen mocked himself for leaving his clothes behind. There was nothing for him to wear, unless Akihiko happened to have any clothes lying around in the guest room. Praying that luck was on his side, Misaki got up from the bed and walked to the wardrobe on his left. He was disappointed to see nothing in there, save for a few clean sheets.

Right when Misaki was dragging his body back to the bed, he was startled by a knock on the door. Feeling vulnerable in his state, he quickly slipped under the sheets and wrapped them protectively around his body.

"Misaki, I'm coming in."

"Don't," Misaki replied, "I don't want you to see me."

The author on the other side of the door emitted a sigh. "I'm worried about you. You're acting very strange."

Misaki couldn't believe that Akihiko was actually worried. He looked to the floor, wondering if his behavior had aroused suspicion. There was no way he could let his new master find out what happened to him. It was far too embarrassing and he was sure Akihiko would tell his brother as well. Either that or the man would take advantage of Misaki incapability to defend himself.

Clutching the fabric tighter, Misaki began to tremble as tears formed in his eyes once more. Since he knew so little about Akihiko, he had no idea whether he could trust him or not. Letting the man in could lead to something terrible, but how much of a choice did he have?

When Misaki didn't answer, Akihiko opened the door and took a single step inside. He stood there, watching Misaki as the latter curled himself up into a ball. Moss green eyes stared at him, the look in them hesitant and anxious. Misaki didn't move as Akihiko walked closer. The author held the teen's clothes and the maid costume in his hand. Standing right in front of Misaki's bed, he laid them down next to the shivering form.

"Misaki," Akihiko spoke, trying to sound a gentle as he could, "You were begging me to stop. What did you mean by that?"

Chewing on his lip, Misaki cast his gaze to the floor again. He couldn't bear looking the other in the eye.

Akihiko waited patiently, not wanting to scare his housekeeper again. Trying to regain eye contact, he kneeled down and looked up at Misaki's face. Unfortunately, brown bangs covered Misaki's eyes. Normally, Akihiko would've simply cupped the younger's face and force him to look up, but he was too shocked by the reaction he'd received earlier.

"I'm not sure what is going on inside your head right now," the novelist admitted, "If you're afraid of me, tell me why."

"It isn't because of you," Misaki whispered.

Although he wasn't sure what Misaki meant by that, it relieved Akihiko a little bit. The questions that had filled his head, however, were left unanswered.

"Usagi—master, please," the brunet continued, "I'm tired. Can I get some rest?"

"Shouldn't you eat something first?" When Misaki shook his head, Akihiko got up from the ground. "All right, go get some sleep then. I'll go downstairs to get your luggage. You can use this room to sleep in." He spun around on his heels and walked out of the room.

The suitcases were still standing by the door. Akihiko descended the staircase, thinking about Misaki's behavior. He needed to find out what was bothering Misaki so much. More importantly, he wanted to know who gave Misaki those marks, because obviously something happened to him.

'Has he been abused by someone? It seems that way. Maybe he was afraid that I would hurt him too.' Akihiko had devised theories in his mind, but didn't want to jump to conclusions too soon. He brought the suitcases to Misaki's room and left just as quietly. Misaki didn't even look up, but he did mutter something before Akihiko left. The author was too consumed with his own thoughts to hear, thinking of the best way to start searching for the answer.

He had a feeling that he knew where to start.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Grasping the Truth

Miraculously, the first night at Misaki's new master's house had passed peacefully. When he opened his eyes, there was no sight of a man on top of him. He had been able to sleep well too, despite all the hassle from the previous day. Akihiko had given him some space, which turned out to have a positive effect.

It was only seven in the morning, yet Misaki felt as though he had slept him. As a housekeeper, he was supposed to wake up early to get all the work done. Throwing off the duvet, he swung his legs to the side and put his feet on the ground to get out of the bed. It wasn't a problem to get up early, but Misaki did feel a bit lightheaded, although he didn't know why. Fortunately, the feeling disappeared after a few more seconds and Misaki felt ready for the new day.

The brunet's good mood died a little when he noticed the maid costume that had fallen off the bed and was lying on the ground. Narrowing his eyes at the outfit, he started to remember what happened the last time he tried to put it on. It wasn't a pleasant thought, so Misaki didn't want to make it happen again. He hesitantly grabbed his normal clothes, looking at them emptily.

'Should I take the risk and put on my own clothes? I've already told master that I don't want to wear his stupid uniform, but will he complain about it?' Holding the garments tighter, Misaki shook his head. 'I'll just try it,' he thought to himself, 'As long as he doesn't say anything about it, I can wear whatever I want.'

Taking off his pajamas, Misaki quickly got dressed and left his bedroom. He found his way to the kitchen, where he started preparing breakfast for his master. There was no sign of Akihiko yet, so he assumed the man was still asleep. It was a good thing as Misaki was able to make breakfast without being disturbed. Although he had calmed down a little, he still felt tense around Akihiko.

While he made breakfast, the teen listened closely to make sure his master wouldn't appear out of nowhere and pounce on him. It was important to be cautious in this new environment. However, even when breakfast was almost ready, Akihiko still hadn't come out of his room, and Misaki began to feel a bit…concerned.

"Why am I even worried about him?" he asked himself, irritation lacing his voice.

Disregarding his worries, he set the table for one person. Once that was done, Misaki climbed the stairs and walked to one of the doors on his right, not knowing which one was the door to his master's bedroom. He knocked softly, but no response came.

"Master?" he questioned in a soft voice, "Are you there?"

"What in the world are you doing?"

Startled, Misaki turned around to see Akihiko. There were bags under the man's eyes and his lips were forming a thin line. Not only did he look as though he hadn't slept at all, but he also seemed very displeased.

The housekeeper took a step back and bowed slightly. "Good morning, master! Breakfast is ready, so I—"

"You shouldn't call me so early," Akihiko cut him off, "I don't like being rudely awakened."

"I-I'm sorry, master."

Akihiko sighed and looked away. "Whatever, there's no point in punishing you for something you didn't know. I'll be right there; let me get dressed first."

"Are you sure you're ready for breakfast?" Misaki asked, looking at the author's tired face, "You look like you haven't slept very well. Wouldn't it be better to get a few more hours of sleep first?"

"No, it wouldn't. It's not like I'll be able to sleep anyways." With that, Akihiko turned around and walked back to his bedroom. Misaki's eyes followed his movements while the teen made a mental note of where the man's bedroom was. Once Akihiko had disappeared out of sight, Misaki returned to the kitchen.

Misaki still wasn't sure what to think of his new master. Although he didn't seem like the friendliest man in the world, he had offered him a job. Furthermore, Akihiko hadn't taken advantage of him yet. That could change, of course, but it did leave Misaki with a lot of unidentified feelings.

As Akihiko came down for breakfast, he silently walked to the dining table and sat down. Lavender eyes glanced at Misaki, who was standing motionlessly in the kitchen. Akihiko furrowed his brows and beckoned the boy closer.

"Come here," he ordered in a weary voice, "You should eat too."

"I can't do that; housekeepers aren't allowed to eat with their master."

"What kind of nonsense is that? Besides, I want you to come sit here with me, so you've got nothing to worry about." Akihiko looked confident as he said this, obviously meaning every word. This left Misaki stammering, but he couldn't think of any reason why he shouldn't listen to his master's wishes. Taking his share of the food from the counter, he took a seat across from Akihiko.

Eyes didn't meet as the two began to eat, because Misaki felt too uneasy to look at his master. He looked around nervously, not sure where to look, until he caught sight of a large teddy bear on the sofa. It was strange he hadn't noticed it before, but perhaps Akihiko had carried it downstairs while he was focusing on other matters.

Akihiko discovered what Misaki was looking at. "That's Suzuki-san," he explained, talking as though it was normal to give a huge teddy bear a name, "I guess I should have introduced you to him sooner, but I couldn't find the right moment to do so."

The seriousness in Akihiko's voice made Misaki cock an eyebrow. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Never before had Misaki met any grown man who owned a large stuffed animal. The fact that his master was treating it like a living thing was even weirder. Misaki already knew that Akihiko wasn't exactly an ordinary person, but he hadn't seen this coming.

However, instead of giving the man some witty reply, Misaki simply smiled at him.

"What's the matter?" Akihiko asked.

Misaki blinked a couple of times as he stared at him. "There's nothing, master. Why do you ask?"

"I haven't seen you smile since you arrived, so it's a bit odd to see you so happy now. Are you hiding something from me, perhaps? Also, you aren't wearing the uniform I bought yesterday."

"Wearing something so feminine isn't exactly a hobby of mine."

"Well, I want you to wear it either way," Akihiko replied, taking a bite of his food, "If you can wear it for someone else, why wouldn't you be able to do it again? The dress isn't actually too revealing and—"

"Like hell it isn't!"

"Don't raise your voice at me like that." Folding his arms, Akihiko looked sternly at the young housekeeper. "If you want to keep this job, you should at least treat me with a little respect. I'm not a patient man, Misaki."

It was hard not to yell at the other, so Misaki decided to keep his mouth shut before he said something stupid again. Takahiro would be disappointed in him if he got fired by his best friend and it wouldn't solve any of the brunet's financial problems. Even while Akihiko was pissing him off, Misaki knew he shouldn't get mad so easily. His emotions were also sharpened by everything that happened at the Honda Estate.

Akihiko didn't seem to mind Misaki's silent response and continued to eat. No longer was he paying attention to the other; he appeared to be too fixed on the delicious taste of his meal to care. Misaki watched him, smirking proudly as the man gorged himself. A compliment followed once Akihiko had finished his food and Misaki couldn't stop the blush dusting his cheeks. Flattery wasn't something he could get used to, even though his amazing cooking skills had been pointed out multiple times already. His own behavior was irritating him, so Misaki quickly cleared the table and brought the dirty dishes to the kitchen.

While the housekeeper tried to get all of the tableware clean, Akihiko took Suzuki-san in his arms and moved to the staircase. Before returning to the upper floor, he glanced over his shoulder.

"Misaki, you should take a shower when you're done," he commanded rather than suggested, "I'm expecting visitors today, so make sure you freshen up and change into your uniform."

"I will, master," Misaki said without looking up. He listened to the sound of footsteps that grew softer gradually, until it could no longer be heard.

A frustrated sigh fell from his lips at the realization that he was going to have to embarrass himself in front of strangers once again. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to obey Akihiko, he wouldn't even touch that damned costume.

"This sucks…" he muttered, putting a clean plate in the dish rack. All of the tableware was clean, so Misaki began to put everything back in the kitchen cabinets and emptied the dishpan. Feeling the unpleasant throbbing in his head return, he groaned and carefully walked back to his bedroom to get the maid uniform. Taking a shower did sound like a good idea; he could use a bit of refreshment. Misaki left the room and searched for the bathroom, finding it sooner than he expected.

While Misaki enjoyed the warm and relaxing shower, Akihiko was working on his small plan secretively. Truth be told, there wasn't anyone coming over that day yet, but that was about to change. As an intelligent man, Akihiko had conjured up some ideas to find out what Misaki was keeping from him.

Akihiko took his cell phone in hand and dialed the number of one of his contacts. Although he was confident about his plan, some sort of anxiety kept gnawing at him He tried to ignore it and greeted his acquaintance in the most natural way as they answered. A short, straight to the point conversation followed in which the author invited them over to have a chat about whatever happened during the past few days.

After the friendly exchange of words, the phone call was brought to an end. The second step of Akihiko's plan had been successful, but it was too early to celebrate his victory as he hadn't gotten to the hardest part yet. Plenty of mistakes could be made; he had to proceed with caution.

Moments later, a clean and fresh-smelling Misaki got out of the shower and reached for a silky soft, blue towel. In order to guarantee his own privacy, Misaki had locked the bathroom door before stepping into the shower. He didn't want to be caught naked again—or barely clothed, for that matter. It had also made it easier for him to enjoy the shower to the fullest, because he had no reason to worry.

Misaki ran the towel over his body, catching droplets on their way down while he hummed to himself. Showers always made things better for him; they put him in a positive mood, relieving him of any bad feelings. There was no more irritation boiling up inside of him, even when he put on the maid outfit. His eyes darted to the mirror to catch a glimpse of his own reflection, but he looked away just as quickly, blushing at the sight of himself wearing the dress. Misaki put the towel in the washing machine and got out of the bathroom.

On his way back to the lower floor of the penthouse, Misaki passed Akihiko's office, where the author appeared to be typing something on his laptop. Standing by the door, Misaki jolted as his master suddenly looked away from the screen, fixing his eyes on him.

"Come in here, will you?"

Obediently, Misaki shuffled closer. When he was at arm's distance, Akihiko studied him from head to toe and nodded.

"It's a perfect fit," he said, smiling faintly, "I was hoping it would be the right size for you."

All of a sudden, a shiver ran down Misaki's spine and his hands balled into fists, trembling visibly. The way Akihiko had spoken to him irked him. However, Misaki didn't want to let it show and pretended not to care.

What he didn't know was that Akihiko couldn't be fooled so easily.

"You're acting strange again," he noted, making direct eye contact with his housekeeper, "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"There's nothing, really. I simply don't want your guests to see me in this embarrassing outfit." Misaki tried to keep a straight face while he lied to his master, trying not to convey his true feelings, hoping Akihiko would leave him alone. As Akihiko turned away and continued to type, Misaki held back a sigh of relief and slipped away quietly.

The doorbell rang as Misaki descended the stairs. Hurriedly, the brunet rushed to the door and tried to smile as sweetly as possible as he opened the door to welcome his master's guest, but his smile faded when he looked into familiar pools of crystal blue. Face growing pale, he stood completely paralyzed as a devilish smirk played on the visitor's lips.

"Well, if it isn't Takahashi-kun."

Still standing as though he was nailed to the floor, Misaki stared wide-eyed at the man before him. Many unfinished responses popped up in his head, but he could say nothing to the other. Wondering what his old master was doing there, he glanced over his shoulder to see if Akihiko was anywhere in sight, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

"Aren't you going to let me in?" Jeff asked suddenly, forcing Misaki's attention back to him, "It would be rude to let a guest wait, don't you think?"

Misaki stepped aside and his eyes followed Jeff's movements closely as he entered the penthouse. Jeff looked around in awe before his gaze returned to meet Misaki's.

"It's surprisingly clean in here," he pointed out, a smile plastered on his face, "I assume that's your doing, given that Akihiko hardly ever does any housework himself."

"Yes, I cleaned the house yesterday," Misaki replied nervously.

As he took a seat on the sofa, Jeff glanced at Misaki and beckoned him. "You seem so tense around me, Takahashi-kun," he said, noticing the look of disbelief in the other's eyes as he said this. Obviously, he was trying to tease Misaki and the poor teen was falling for it.

"I wonder why."

Both Jeff and Misaki turned their heads to see Akihiko, whose attention was kept on Jeff.

"Ah, Akihiko, I was hoping you'd show up. It would have been rather strange if you had invited me and leave me here to talk to your housekeeper instead." Blue eyes darted to Misaki, who shivered uncontrollably as he met Jeff's stare.

"I'm really not that kind of person…and I doubt Misaki would appreciate it."

Jeff's eyes narrowed, as though he was offended, but he didn't say anything in response. Misaki noticed the change in his expression and cocked his head, not quite sure what Akihiko meant. As far as he was concerned, the two men were good friends and enjoyed each other's company. Yet, there was no happiness to be found in Akihiko's eyes. Instead, the look on the author's face was very serious.

Not quite sure what he was supposed to do, Misaki began to walk away. Surprise struck him as someone took hold of his wrist and pulled him back, making it impossible to flee. He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see Jeff behind him, but saw Akihiko instead. Without another word, his master dragged him to the second sofa and gestured, ordering him to take a seat on the left. Misaki did as he was told, although not willingly, and folded his hands in his lap.

Once everyone was seated, Akihiko took the initiative to continue the conversation.

"There is a very important reason for me to invite you over today," he said to Jeff, "I don't just want to talk to you about casual matters; this is about Misaki."

Upon hearing his own name, Misaki's head snapped up and he instantly looked at Akihiko. Just what was that man plotting anyway? First, he invites Jeff over without giving Misaki a proper warning and then he wants to talk about him? What the heck was going on?

Jeff was almost as surprised as the young housekeeper, but he didn't let this show.

"I'm all ears," he said plainly.

"Yesterday, I visited Takahiro and discovered that Misaki either quit his job or got fired, so I offered him a job as my housekeeper. He was acting really weird, especially compared with how he behaved when I met him at your place. Furthermore, he was completely terrified when I touched him, even though I wasn't trying to hurt him in any way."

"Y-you were touching me while I was practically naked!" Misaki protested furiously. His voice weakened as he realized Jeff was listening and he bowed his head down, his face growing beet red.

"Akihiko, I hate to disappoint you, but I don't understand where you're coming from."

"Don't you remember that you forced Misaki to orally satisfy you? I was there, you know, and I saw it with my own eyes."

"Ah, that," Jeff trailed off, "Yes, I do remember, very clearly."

By then, Misaki's face was even redder than it had been before, yet neither of the other males got to see this as the brunet looked at the floor in horrification. He wasn't sure if Akihiko was trying to embarrass him or if he had something else in mind, but Misaki didn't like where this was going. Aside from feeling terribly uncomfortable with the humiliating events they were discussing, Misaki was also suffering from the memories of being raped by Jeff.

Although he tried to block everything out, the poor housekeeper was on the verge of tears as the conversation continued. He carefully tugged at Akihiko's sleeve and his master responded by looking at him, but Misaki didn't meet his gaze.

"Master, I can't…" he whispered, not knowing what to say, "Please, can I leave?"

Recognizing the desperate tone of Misaki's voice, Akihiko studied him worriedly.

"Please, master."

The housekeeper kept pleading and clutching the fabric tighter, while his voice almost caused Akihiko's heart to break. Misaki was acting the same as the previous day, which didn't seem like a good sign to Akihiko. He already felt guilty for being careless last time, but the fact that he invited Jeff over made him feel even worse.

Lifting his hand, Akihiko gently patted Misaki's head. Wet eyes finally looked at him and he tried to smile as kindly as possible.

"You can go now," he spoke softly.

Misaki bowed hastily to show his gratitude and dashed to the staircase, not even trying to hide his discomfort at that point. Eyes were on him until he had disappeared from sight, and the two males sitting in the living room looked at one another again.

"Jeff, you can't make me believe that Misaki's reactions are normal," Akihiko continued, "I can easily tell that Misaki is afraid of you. Now, I want to know what you did to Misaki when he was still working for you."

"Just what are you accusing me of?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out and you aren't getting away without telling me the truth."

A displeased look crossed Jeff's features, yet he remained calm and sat back. Not liking the response of his so-called 'friend', Akihiko tried to search his eyes for clues. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to get the information he wanted, but there was no other way. Given that Misaki had no intention of telling him, Akihiko was left with no other option.

"Answer me honestly," Akihiko ordered, "Did you do anything else to Misaki, something I do not know of?"

"You need to be more specific."

"All right, I will rephrase my question. Have you, either before or after my visit, done anything sexual to him?"

"Yes, I have."

"Was it consensual?"

There was no answer, only silence. To Akihiko, however, this was evidence to the case he was investigating, or at least he considered himself a detective of some sort. It felt as though he had just cornered a mouse, but he didn't stop there. He needed to know more.

"Did you rape him?" The question was blunt and Akihiko knew this, but if Jeff wanted him to be specific, then he would be. It also made it impossible for the blond-haired male to avoid the question. If he didn't answer, Akihiko would immediately assume that he had indeed raped Misaki, so all he could do was confirm or deny it.

The air in the room grew thick from the unbearable tension. The blue eyes that usually seemed confident and fearless were no longer focused on Akihiko, but had cast their gaze on the coffee table. Irritation was visible, but Jeff just stared soundlessly. On the other side, Akihiko had figured out what had really happened and felt anger boil up inside. The urge to punch the other in the face was very strong, yet he managed to control himself and remain seated.

"I never thought you'd stoop so low," Akihiko said in disappointment.

"This was a special case, if you must know. It has never been a problem for me to charm others and get them to sleep with me. Takahashi-kun, however, showed that he had no interest in me, so I knew that seducing him wouldn't work."

"So you think it's okay to force him?"

"You should listen to your heart, right? Well, it told me that I needed to take Takahashi-kun and that's exactly what I did."

Akihiko was even more disgusted after hearing that answer. The fact that Jeff had done such an immoral thing to Misaki and didn't even regret it in the slightest was absolutely revolting. Didn't he even care one bit about scarring the poor teen for life?

"Jeff, I have never really stopped you from doing what you desired. Now I realize that I should have, because you've gone way too far this time."

"Come on, Akihiko. You know Takahashi-kun is adorable; you're even making him wear a maid costume like I did. Aren't we the same?"

"No, we're not," the other replied angrily, "I would never hire someone so I could rape them. That's a terrible thing to do, but apparently you haven't realized that yet."

"I don't regret my decision," Jeff said confidently.

An idea came to mind as Akihiko stared at the other in disgust. It wasn't a very good idea and he knew that. On the other hand, he couldn't stand looking at that smug grin plastered on Jeff's any longer.

"Since you have no regrets, I'm sure you wouldn't mind facing the consequences of your actions and going to jail," he stated sternly, folding his arms, "I can't pretend that what happened between you and Misaki is just a lie, and I'm sure my conscience wouldn't let me either. In order to prevent you from doing the same to other innocent people, I will call the police and tell them what you've done."

Jeff gritted his teeth. "You can't be serious! Didn't you say you're my friend? Besides, there's no way they'll believe you."

"Actually, I think Misaki will be able to convince the police."

Akihiko stopped speaking, noticing the fire in the other's eyes. Before he could react, Jeff had rushed over to his side, grabbed his collar and smashed him into the wooden floor. He held Akihiko down, his hands clenching around the latter's neck.

This wasn't what Akihiko expected. Jeff had never reacted violently to anyone, so he was taken aback by the man's actions and his strength. Desperately, Akihiko tried to pry the hands away from his neck. When he managed to free himself from Jeff's grip, he glared at him and pushed him off.

"I think it's time for you to leave," he said, his voice sounding suspiciously calm.

"If you dare to call the police, I'll kill you." Jeff got up, shooting daggers at Akihiko, and marched to the exit without turning around. He didn't utter a single word before slamming the door shut.

Barely three seconds later, Misaki came out of his bedroom and rushed down the stairs, his eyes filled with shock as he spotted Akihiko lying on the ground. He ran to him and kneeled down, staring at him worriedly.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

"Jeff didn't like it when I threatened to call the police after hearing what he's done to you," Akihiko replied with a dark chuckle, "I'm fine now. Truth be told, I'm still more concerned about you." He sat up carefully, feeling his back ache. "Now that I know the truth, I finally understand why you freaked out when I touched you yesterday. From now on, I'll be more careful."

Misaki's expression didn't change. "Why are you so nice to me? I've only been mean to you up until now."

"Well, I figured there must be a reason for your behavior. You were much friendlier when I met you at the Honda Estate. That kind of friendliness doesn't just disappear into nothingness."

"I…I suppose…"

Noticing that Misaki was shuddering, Akihiko gently ruffled his hair. "You need some time to relax. I'll be in my office, so if you need anything you know where to find me." Getting up from the wooden floor, he walked to the staircase and made his way to his office. He knew Misaki still hadn't gotten used to his presence, but he was glad the boy didn't act as hateful as before.

Misaki hadn't moved from his spot and was staring blankly at the door to Akihiko's office, the question from before haunting his mind.

'Why are you so nice to me?'


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Taking a Step Back

Akihiko was working in his office, concentrating on the novel he was supposed to hand in three days ago, but had once again neglected even after Aikawa had scolded him for being so uncaring. He couldn't focus after his 'friendly conversation' with Jeff. The pity he felt for Misaki was understandable, to a certain point, but he still had no idea why he was so obsessed with his housekeeper.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who's so worried about him," he muttered to himself. His eyes looked away from the screen when Misaki knocked on his door for the third time that day.

"Master, I need to go to the grocery store to get some ingredients for dinner," the brunet said.

"Let me go with you," Akihiko insisted, taking off his glasses.

"Eh? Why?"

"I can't let you go by yourself after that argument I had with Jeff today. He could still be nearby and I don't want you running into him by yourself. Who knows what he'll do to you if he gets you alone?"

Misaki was disgusted by the memory, trying to keep his emotions under control. Having another mental breakdown was not an option. Looking into his master's eyes, Misaki blushed and pointed at the dress he was wearing. "Do I have to—"

"No, go change," Akihiko replied before Misaki could even finish his question, "No one should see you in that outfit. Besides, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself, nor do you want people to start thinking that you're a cross-dresser, am I right?"

The housekeeper shook his head furiously. "That's why I wanted to ask if it's okay if I put on my normal clothes. I'll be right back."

While Misaki changed, Akihiko shut off his laptop and went downstairs. The teen seemed to appreciate his offer to accompany him, even though Misaki didn't trust him entirely. Akihiko assumed that he was just too scared of running into Jeff again that he didn't want to leave the penthouse by himself, which wasn't hard to understand.

Once the younger male was ready, the two left and drove to the grocery store in Akihiko's car. Misaki was sitting nervously next to him, constantly looking around him as if someone was following them. Of course that wasn't the face, but that didn't get through his paranoid mind.

"I called Emi today," Akihiko said, drawing the boy's attention to himself.

"I-is that so?"

"Why are you so scared? Is it because we are going to the shopping district? I can assure you that I'll keep an eye on you, so no one will get the chance to do anything to you. The chance of running into Jeff there is small too."

"You can never be careful enough," Misaki mumbled, more to himself than for his master to hear.

"That's very true," the other agreed, "So that's why we're going together."

Misaki didn't respond to that, but he appreciated Akihiko's care. "What did you and Emi-san talk about?"

"We talked about you for most of the conversation. I wanted to know if Emi was aware of what Jeff had done to you. She told me that she has called the police and informed them, so they might come over soon to talk to you. When I told her you are now working for me, she said that I needed to be careful around you. She's just as worried about you as I am."

"I-I don't mean to worry anyone," the teen stuttered, getting flustered as he shifted in his seat.

"It would be strange if neither of us were concerned about you. I promised Emi that I'd take good care of you while you're working for me."

"Did she…tell you anything else?"

Akihiko cocked an eyebrow, but didn't look directly at Misaki as he had to concentrate on the road. "What are you referring to? She told me that she and Lillian are in the middle of moving out and that she's staying at someone else's place for the time being. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering if anything bad happened to them," Misaki admitted, "They already knew everything and Emi-san said she'd leave, so I was scared that he would hurt her as well."

Noticing that Misaki didn't even try to pronounce Jeff's name, Akihiko stopped responding and tried to let the topic drift away. He felt as though he could step on a landmine if he continued. For the remainder of the ride, he said no more. Even when they arrived and got out of the car, Akihiko was quiet. His promise to be careful around Misaki was real and he would try to live up to it.

The silence made the housekeeper wonder if he had upset his master and he cast his eyes down to the ground. Although he was happy that Akihiko was being so thoughtful, he got the feeling that he was being a burden. The time wasted on going to the store with him could have been used to work on novels or do research. Besides that, Misaki still found it strange that Akihiko was caring so much about his well-being.

Misaki didn't want to waste any more time and hurried into the grocery store, grabbing a shopping basket as he entered. As he rushed through the shop to get all the ingredients, Akihiko simply wobbled after him. Making sure not to fall behind, he kept his eyes on the other constantly. The carelessness of Misaki's unexpected actions troubled him; the teen could get into trouble if he kept running around like that.

It was fortunate that it was quite crowded, so no one could try to do anything to Misaki without others noticing. This relieved Akihiko just a bit. The contented expression on Misaki's face was a satisfying sight as well; it seemed like the boy was no longer afraid of running into his old master.

Even so, his current master was still contemplated what to do next. Calling the police wasn't necessary anymore, since Emi had already done that. Akihiko felt somewhat useless; all he could do was watch over Misaki and keep him away from Jeff. How hard could that really be? His ex-friend could already have moved to another city for all he knew.

"I've got everything I need!" Misaki said as he ran back to Akihiko, "We can leave now, or do you need anything else?"

"Why would I?" Akihiko asked, frowning at the other. He felt his expression soften when Misaki blushed. "Let's go home," he said, holding back a chuckle, "I'm hungry already, so you better start cooking as soon as we get home."

"Yes, master," Misaki whispered, the color on his face turning even brighter as he prayed that no one else heard him.

They walked towards the checkout, where they had to wait in line for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, Akihiko stared disinterestedly out of the nearest window. Misaki stood beside him, holding the basket with both hands as he refused to let his master carry it for him.

"Say, you haven't told Takahiro yet, have you?"

Misaki glanced at the man next to him, who looked back at him. He shook his head slowly. "No, I haven't," he replied softly, "I can't get myself to tell him about this."

"Don't you think he should know, as your older brother?"

"It wouldn't change a thing if I told him; it's all in the past. There's nothing he can do except for worrying."

Akihiko did understand where Misaki was coming from, but he didn't completely agree with him. Although he was sure the boy was hiding it from his brother out of shame, he wanted him to tell Takahiro the real reason why he quit his job at the Honda Estate. Forcing Misaki into doing that was impossible, but perhaps he could convince him later on.

About three minutes later, they were finally able to leave the store. Akihiko had paid for the groceries and was walking back to his car with his younger housekeeper following him. Glancing over his shoulder every so often, he made sure that Misaki wasn't being kidnapped by someone. The teen kept looking around him nervously and Akihiko sighed. It would take a while for Misaki to get back to his old self, if he was ever going to be the same again.

All Akihiko could do was offer his help and hope that Misaki would accept it.

* * *

The ride back to the condo had been silent, but not entirely uncomfortable. Misaki still found it difficult to speak to Akihiko. He didn't know all that much about the man yet and wasn't too fond of the idea that he was in love with his older brother. Alas, it seemed as though Takahiro really trusted his friend. It was practically impossible for Misaki to get in the way of their friendship, unless Akihiko assaulted or abused him.

His habit of jumping to conclusions about his new master and comparing him to a certain rapist wasn't fair. That didn't make it easy to get rid of it; Misaki knew it would take time and effort on Akihiko's behalf to make his housekeeper trust him. The best he could do was to pay close attention to his master's actions. He realized he was perhaps a bit jumpy, but he could work on that. As long as Akihiko didn't do anything stupid, it would be fine.

Those thoughts clouded Misaki's mind until they were back. He followed his master to the elevator, carrying the plastic bag with groceries in his right hand. After some persuasion, he had managed to convince Akihiko that a housekeeper should carry groceries instead of the master. The disinterested look the author had shown him indicated that he didn't care for such rules in the slightest, but was in no mood to argue.

Akihiko appeared to pay absolutely no attention to his or Misaki's social status. They were standing next to each other, almost as equals, and the man refused to actually order his housekeeper around. Naturally, he would let him do all the housework, but only because he wasn't capable of doing so himself. It wasn't as though he'd care about giving Misaki money without a proper reason. Money had never been of any interest to him. Moreover, his young housekeeper's past was troubling him to a certain extent.

Lavender eyes stare at the shorter male, whose gaze met the other's as Misaki noticed that he was being looked at. His expression was questioning, his head tilting sideways in curiosity.

"Is everything all right?" Misaki asked.

"Yes," was the simple reply of his master.

"Then what are you staring at me for? Is there something in my hair?" Lifting his free hand, Misaki started plucking at his hair to see if he could find any leaves or small twigs. He halted his ministrations when Akihiko chuckled. "What's so funny?"

Akihiko shook his head, trying to compose himself. "You just seem to be more comfortable around me than before. That makes me happy."

Misaki said nothing and looked away. He hadn't even realized that he was behaving differently, but he couldn't say Akihiko was wrong. Ever since the man discovered what Jeff had done to him, Misaki was feeling a little bit safer around his new master. Wondering if it had something to do with the other's sympathy towards him, Misaki tightened his grip on the plastic bag.

Before Akihiko could ask what was troubling him, the doors of the elevator opened. The brunet waited for him to get out and followed him. He didn't have a spare key or the password to his master's penthouse, so all he could do was wait for Akihiko to let him in. It wasn't as though he needed a key to begin with; it was quite obvious that Akihiko refused to let him go out by himself.

When the door was open, Akihiko stepped inside and turned around to face his housekeeper.

"I still have got some work to do, so I will be in my office," he explained while he took off his shoes.

"Should I bring you dinner once I've finished cooking?"

"No, I'll eat downstairs. We agreed on eating together, right?" Akihiko then froze, taking a moment to think about his words. "Would you rather eat alone?" he asked suddenly, waiting for Misaki's reaction.

"E-eating together is fine," Misaki replied. He was taken aback by his master's considerate question. Like he promised, Akihiko was extremely careful with his words and actions, constantly thinking of the boy's feelings. Misaki could hardly believe that the cold man he had met at the Honda Estate could be such a kind soul.

While Misaki was still in awe, Akihiko retreated to his office to work on his manuscript. It was probably for the best if he stayed out of his housekeeper's way and gave him some space. The latter was somewhat tense around him. Although it wasn't as bad as the first day, it was clear that Misaki wouldn't let his guard down around Akihiko. Not that Akihiko wanted him to, but it would be nice to get closer to him.

There wasn't much Akihiko could do yet, no matter how much he wanted to help. First, he needed to make sure that Misaki started to like him more. Under normal circumstances, he didn't care whether people liked him or not, except for Takahiro and Hiroki. Yet there was this strong desire to gain the trust of the teen and Akihiko couldn't possibly ignore it.

Meanwhile, said person was in the kitchen to make dinner. He was chopping vegetables at a quick pace, not quite paying any mind to what he was doing. Occupied with his thoughts, he failed to notice how close the knife was to his fingers until he accidentally cut himself. With a yelp, he dropped the knife and stared at his finger. Blood was spilling out of the wound rapidly.

"Shit!" Misaki cursed, "This is why I shouldn't space out while cooking." Sticking the finger into his mouth, he tried to make it stop bleeding for a while. In the meantime, looking for a bandage was his only option.

With his free hand, the brunet quickly threw the vegetables into the pan. Once he was certain that it was safe to leave the kitchen, he made his way to the bathroom to look for a first-aid kit. At first, it seemed as though there was no such thing to be found, but eventually he found a small white box in one of the cabinets.

"What are you looking for in here?"

Misaki jolted and glanced over his shoulder, noticing Akihiko in the doorway.

"You startled me, master," he said timidly, "I was looking for a bandage, because I cut myself. It's nothing serious, but it's bleeding a little."

"A little?" Akihiko questioned, staring at the finger, "That doesn't look like it is bleeding 'a little' to me. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Misaki flashed a reassuring smile and wrapped the bandage around his finger, covering the wound. "See, it's good now! I'll go back to the kitchen now before anything starts burning." Closing the cabinet, Misaki walked past his master and returned to the kitchen.

Dinner was ready after about half an hour. Everything was brought to the table before Misaki walked to Akihiko's office to call the man. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. When Akihiko told him it was okay to come in, he entered.

"Master, I've come to tell you that dinner is served," Misaki spoke politely.

"What's with the formalities?" Akihiko asked skeptically, "Never mind that. I'll be right there."

Misaki bowed, spun around and made his way to the dining room. There, he obediently waited for his master to join him for dinner. Akihiko came down after a few more minutes and they ate together without exchanging too many words. Misaki was reluctant to talk to Akihiko, while the latter didn't want to say anything that would make Misaki uncomfortable. His carefulness was mistaken for disinterest, but the young housekeeper didn't mind. He was not expecting Akihiko to be all that fascinated by him in the first place. The fact that the author had been so interested in his problem with Jeff was already surprising.

Nevertheless, Misaki wasn't going to ask what the reason was behind Akihiko's curiosity towards him. Since he was Takahiro's younger brother, the man that Akihiko quite evidently had a crush on, he assumed that his master was merely trying to get along so he could leave a good impression on the person he loved. He had been thinking that ever since he saw the way Akihiko looked at Takahiro and his point of view had not changed since then. What did change was that he no longer cared whether Akihiko was using him for that purpose or not. As long as he and his brother weren't harmed in any way, it didn't matter.

After witnessing Akihiko's kinder side, Misaki was starting to understand how the man had befriended Takahiro. Aside from being a successful author, Akihiko wasn't looking too bad either. In fact, upon further inspection, Misaki considered him a rather handsome person. He was masculine and had a perfectly proportioned body, and both his hair and eye color were unique to say the least.

Akihiko soon caught Misaki staring at him. Noticing that the younger's face was growing red gradually, he smirked.

"Are you having fun admiring my beauty?" he teased.

"I was doing no such thing!" Misaki protested, his face flushing instantly.

"Calm down, I was only teasing you." Akihiko was about to took another bite, but paused when the chopsticks were right in front of his mouth. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know. There are many people, men and women alike, who have complimented me on my good looks. You wouldn't be the first to be mesmerized by my attractiveness."

Misaki scoffed, but his discomfort was easy to notice. "I-I hope you aren't flirting with me," he said softly, stuttering a bit.

Realizing that he had made a mistake, Akihiko sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, that was thoughtless of me," he admitted, "Frankly, I just felt like teasing you a little, so it wasn't anything serious. Still, I know I should be way more careful around you."

The author's words were astonishing, even to himself. Never, not even once in his life, had he apologized to someone so sincerely. Regardless of the situation, he often refrained from blaming himself for anything. In Misaki's case, he felt partially responsible for how the boy was feeling, even though it wasn't really any of his business. Every time he looked into those large, bright eyes, the desire to gain the teen's trust returned. It was just so strange.

"Master, are you okay?"

Akihiko snapped out of his thoughts and gazed at his housekeeper, then forced a smile on his face. "I'm fine," he replied, "Just thinking about ways to finish my novel. My editor will come over to retrieve it tomorrow."

"What's your editor like?"

"She's a demon in disguise," Akihiko replied without hesitation, "Although she may seem like a friendly woman, it is dangerous to get on her bad side. In fact, her aggressiveness towards me is the reason why I've given her a spare key to my apartment, in hopes that it will save me from an early death."

"Should I be afraid of her?" the other asked softly.

"Probably not. I assume she'll like you." Finishing his rice, Akihiko put his chopsticks down and swallowed. "If you don't mind, I'll get back to work now. There are still a couple of pages left and my editor has the tendency to come over early in the morning."

"That's no problem at all! I have to do the dishes anyway."

Misaki rose from his seat and grabbed the dirty dishes, carrying them to the counter. He failed to notice that Akihiko kept watching him before he finally walked to the stairs. His master found his diligence when it came to housework impressive, but chose not to comment on that aspect while the other was busy. Instead, Akihiko moved to the upper level of the penthouse and returned to his office.

Sitting down at his desk, Akihiko continued to write the last part of his manuscript. If he managed to finish it in time, he could focus on finding information regarding traumatic experiences. For the time being, looking for a way to reduce the mental damage was all he could do to help Misaki. Chances that the brunet would get over his trauma entirely were small, but it was possible to help Misaki cope with it. Any sign of improvement would be enough to encourage Akihiko…and hopefully Misaki as well.

They just had to take it easy, one step at a time.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Painful Memories

The remainder of the day passed normally. Misaki did the dishes, cleaned a bit more of the penthouse, brought Akihiko a cup of coffee while he was working, and called it a day. He bid his master sweet dreams before going to his bedroom. The maid uniform hung from the door of his wardrobe, serving no purpose. It was relieving to not have to wear a dress anymore. Having Akihiko treat him like a normal Japanese boy was a big cheer-up for Misaki.

Even so, he still had this feeling of anxiety clouding his mind and he didn't understand it. There was nothing to fear, or at least it seemed that way. This wasn't true in Misaki's case, but he tried to fight his fears nonetheless.

Trying to clear his mind, he threw on his pajamas and lay down on his bed. A contented sigh came from his lips as he felt the soft matrass beneath him. He closed his eyes and waited for dreams to fill his mind.

Until early in the morning, Misaki slept peacefully. The songs of the birds failed to wake him. What did bring him to reality was a weight on top of him. Recognizing the situation, Misaki opened his eyes, but someone else's hand blocked his view. The hand was large, warm and rough. Its touch felt awfully familiar, yet it took Misaki some time to figure out who it belonged to.

When a long, baritone voice broke the silence, he remembered.

"Don't try to scream, Takahashi-kun. No one will hear you here."

Misaki's blood ran cold as he pictured the face of his previous master. His whole body was shaking, but arms and legs wouldn't move. Telling himself it was a nightmare, Misaki squeezed his eyes shut. As he did so, the hand retracted and started fidgeting with the pajama shirt he was wearing. Misaki tried to struggle, but his muscles felt way too heavy. An unknown force was holding him down and it was much stronger than him.

Then, he heard another voice.

"The drugs appear to be working well, don't you agree?"

Disbelief filled Misaki's mind. The second voice was undoubtedly Akihiko's. Moreover, he sounded as though he was enjoying what they were doing to the helpless housekeeper. Misaki didn't understand it. Akihiko had been so kind to him before, so how could he—

The train of thoughts was interrupted as the brunet discovered a pattern. Both Akihiko and Jeff had tried to make him feel welcome and cared for, yet they did that for the sole purpose of tricking him. He couldn't believe he had fallen for the same nasty trick twice. The only options he had left were pleading for the two to stop or accept his fate. Although he was pretty sure it wouldn't work, he picked the first option.

"Master, please don't do this to me! I can't take this a second time!"

Jeff was the one who responded. "It's not that you can't, Takahashi-kun," he said while chuckling, "You're simply scared, but that's not necessary. This time you know what to expect, right?"

"No, I don't want to go through this again!"

"Come on now. Don't you think that's unfair towards Akihiko? He hasn't had the chance to feel you yet and I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss out on this."

"Indeed," Akihiko hummed in agreement, "Now then, shall we begin?"

Moss green eyes shot open, examining the faces of the men towering over the teen. Their bodies were muscular, broad and barely clothed. Despite all that, the one who felt most exposed was Misaki, lying on the bed without being capable of moving a muscle. His eyes merely stared, his mouth agape with no words falling from his lips. He felt the same weakness from back when Jeff had raped him, along with betrayal. After everything Akihiko had said to him, he thought it was safe to believe that the man wouldn't hurt him. Nothing could've proven him more wrong than the situation he was currently in.

His shirt was pushed up as far as possible as fingers began playing with his nipples. They squeezed, pinched and pulled, making Misaki hiss in pain. The reaction painted a smirk on Akihiko's face.

"Looks like you're sensitive even though you're affected by the drug," he whispered, "Let's see how far we can get just by playing with you."

"Really Akihiko, don't you just want to fuck him?" Jeff asked.

"A bit of teasing never hurts." Glancing at Misaki, Akihiko licked his lips and leaned down, taking the abused nub in his mouth. He flicked it with his tongue while his hand slid into the boy's pajama bottoms.

Misaki wanted to stop them, but Jeff was holding his wrists together in an iron grip. Against such strong men, Misaki didn't stand a single chance. Even without trying, Jeff and Akihiko overpowered him. Furthermore, the drug that had been used on Misaki appeared to make most of his body go numb. Strangely, he could still feel the pain and pleasure, but his body wouldn't obey him.

The hand in his bottoms had discovered a growing lump in his boxers and was rubbing it in a slow, sensual manner. It wasn't supposed to feel good to Misaki, but it did. The stimulation made a moan come from the brunet's lips.

"Oh, you like that?" Akihiko teased, his breath tickling the nipple in his mouth, "I can do a lot more with my hands. Do you want me to show you?"

"N-no, stop!"

"Really, you don't want me to continue? You're getting harder even while I'm talking to you. Maybe I should just whisper dirty things into your ear until you beg for me to touch your body."

Misaki gritted his teeth. "There's no way in hell that'll ever happen."

"Okay, I think we've let him talk enough," Jeff said to Akihiko, "Should I gag him or do you want to fuck his mouth?"

"As alluring as that sounds, I'm more interested in what's down here," Akihiko replied coolly.

While the authors discussed the situation casually, Misaki listened to them in horror. His fate was literally being decided right before him and he didn't like any of it. He was absolutely disgusted, even more so when Akihiko forced their lips together, kissing the teen against his will. Misaki wanted to bite the man's lips, but Akihiko broke the kiss too soon for him to do that.

"I don't want to waste any more time," Akihiko said. Hooking fingers of both hands in Misaki's boxers, he pushed the clothes down swiftly. He spread the boy's legs and shoved his own underwear down hastily, keeping his eyes on Misaki while he undressed himself.

"…No," Misaki whimpered desperately. His voice was weak, but quickly regained its strength.

Akihiko didn't respond and pressed his cock against Misaki's entrance.

"Stop it!"

Screaming from the top of his lungs, Misaki found himself in his bedroom without Jeff or Akihiko. He was sitting upright in his bed, his entire body clammy with sweat and his eyes wide open. After blinking a couple of times, he realized he had woken up from a terrible nightmare. It was hard to believe that it was all his imagination; everything seemed and felt so real.

Suddenly, the door opened and Akihiko stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on Misaki. In large steps, he walked towards the bed.

"What happened?" the author asked, "I heard you scream just now." He reached out, but stopped moving when Misaki jolted and crawled backwards. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I…yes, I think so," Misaki replied, unsure of what was real and what was not, "What time is it?"

"It's nine in the morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't, Misaki," Akihiko said, "My editor decided to come over early, so I was already awake long before I heard you. Now, do you want to talk about your nightmare? Was it about Jeff?"

At a loss of words, Misaki nodded slowly. Telling Akihiko that the nightmare was also about him was a bad idea. Either Akihiko would get angry or he'd be hurt that Misaki dreamt of him doing such a thing. Misaki wasn't sure what to think, so he said no more and averted his gaze. The gesture was soon noticed by Akihiko. Moving away from the bed, he turned around and walked back to the door. Near the doorway, he looked over his shoulder.

"Don't be scared if you hear yelling," he pointed out, "My editor can be loud sometimes, mostly when she's excited or angry."

The door of the bedroom closed and Misaki was alone again. Since he was wide awake, he figured it was about time for him to get out and make breakfast. He wondered if he was supposed to prepare something for Akihiko's editor as well, but she had probably eaten already.

"Whatever, I'll just ask," he muttered to himself, putting his feet on the ground. His clothes lay on the desk at the other side of the room, neatly folded as usual. He put them on and laid his pajamas under his pillow.

Once he was dressed and had opened the curtains, Misaki left his room and descended the stairs. The first thing he noticed was someone with long, red hair sitting on one of the sofas. Across from the stranger said Akihiko, who looked bored out of his mind. His eyes found the teen as the latter reached the lower level, yet they did not speak to one another.

"Sensei, pay attention!" the voice of a woman called, "What's with you today? You're acting all secretive."

Failing to catch the author's attention, the redhead looked to see what Akihiko was staring at and saw Misaki.

"Are you Misaki-kun?" she asked, getting up from the couch. The boy nodded and she smiled, hurrying over to him on her red high heels. "So, you're Usami-sensei's housekeeper. I'm Aikawa, his editor."

"N-nice to meet you," Misaki stuttered, a bit startled by her enthusiasm. Nevertheless, he found her very pretty and friendly-looking. She didn't seem scary or intimidating in the slightest, but he assumed that was because she's a woman. Had Akihiko's editor been male, then Misaki would've avoided them as much as he could.

Akihiko could tell his housekeeper wasn't entirely at ease, but he looked as though he could manage, so it wasn't necessary to stop Aikawa from rambling on and on. Even when she began complaining about Akihiko never making his deadlines, the latter remained seated. He was used to all the nagging and knew that Aikawa would be praising him for his brilliant writing in the end, like she always did.

"Misaki-kun, how long have you been working here?" the woman asked, showing her interest in the young housekeeper.

"Only a couple of days," Misaki replied, "I first found a job offer online, but that didn't really work out. Then master told me that he could use a housekeeper and that's how I ended up here."

Aikawa squealed in delight. "Sensei, he even calls you 'master'! That would be a great scenario for that new novel of yours!"

"Let's not discuss my next work with Misaki around," Akihiko said, interrupting his overly excited editor, "Weren't you the one who told me to stay focused? You're getting sidetracked right now."

"Right, the manuscript." Aikawa sat back on the sofa and read the final pages of Akihiko's story.

Misaki watched as the two discussed the manuscript, barely understanding wht they were going on about. Aikawa seemed somewhat bothered by something, but her explanation made no sense to him. It had to be because he didn't know a thing about books, much less Akihiko's. It made him feel dumb. He knew he had to do something to make himself useful.

"Aikawa-san, would you like something to drink? Or perhaps I could fix you some food."

"No thanks," Aikawa said, flashing a smile, "We'll finish up in a couple of minutes and I need to take the manuscript to the printers, so I can't stay much longer."

"Are you sure? I'm about to make breakfast for master anyways."

Aikawa laughed and shook her head, declining Misaki's offer in a friendly manner. She continued to read and Misaki retreated to the kitchen. He threw on his apron and started making a traditional Japanese breakfast.

Soon, the delicious smell reached Aikawa and Akihiko, who had finished talking about the manuscript. Putting the document in her bag, Aikawa prepared to take her leave. She thanked Akihiko and promised to bring some sweets for Misaki the next time she visited. Misaki saw her out and bid her goodbye. Once she had left, he got back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

"As I expected, she really likes you," Akihiko noted, lighting a cigarette, "I hope that won't make her come over more often."

"That's not a nice thing to say. You should welcome guests."

"She doesn't count as a guest," Akihiko argued irritably, "That woman's just a pain in the ass. If I don't finish my manuscripts on time, she almost murders me."

"Maybe you should hand in your work on time, don't you think?" Misaki replied matter-of-factly.

Akihiko ignored his witty response and got up, approaching the other. He leaned over the counter, causing Misaki to instinctively take a step away from him. The novelist noticed, but didn't say anything about it.

"Is breakfast ready yet?" he asked, "I'm hungry."

"Almost. Let me set the table and we can eat."

Misaki filled the bowls with rice and miso soup and brought the food to the dining table. He walked back, turned off the stove, and served the salmon along with the vegetables he had prepared. Akihiko took a seat first, watching as Misaki got rid of his apron and joined him.

"So," Misaki began, "how long have you and Aikawa-san known each other?"

"Don't know, but it feels like we've worked together for years." Akihiko sighed. "I think it's because I haven't worked with any other editors for a while. Aikawa is in charge of all of my novels."

Misaki didn't understand why Akihiko wasn't more grateful. Aikawa was an important person for his career, yet he didn't treat her as such. Calling her a nuisance proved how little Akihiko cared about her assistance—that's how it seemed to Misaki.

Just when the brunet was about to lecture his master, they both heard the doorbell ring. Misaki looked at Akihiko questioningly, but the man appeared to be puzzled as well.

"Were you expecting anyone, master?"

"Only Aikawa, but she already has what she needs. Maybe she's forgotten something."

"I'll go check," Misaki said.

Getting up from his seat, Misaki walked to the front door. For some reason, he got the feeling that it wasn't Aikawa waiting by the door, but he didn't know who else it could be. The thought that Jeff had returned crossed his mind, and he froze, then told himself to stay calm. It was no use thinking about that horrible person.

He grasped the door handle, took a deep breath and pushed the handle down. As the door opened, he noticed two tall men in uniforms. They were obviously policemen.

"G-good day," Misaki said, slightly intimidated by them, "Can I help you?"

"You are Takahashi Misaki, correct? We would like to ask you some questions."

"Oh, sure! Please, come in."

The men entered the penthouse and Misaki shut the door. Akihiko had moved away from the dining table to greet the unexpected visitors. He offered them a seat, the tone in his voice too friendly for Misaki to consider normal. Akihiko wasn't very keen on visitors, so the teen couldn't see why he was so pleased to have the police at his house. Dispelling that thought, he walked to the sofas and sat down next to his master and across from the policemen. He was not looking forward to answering their questions, but it was his only option.

"Now, before we get to the point, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Kojima Sho and that's Iwasaki Kuro. He's new to the job, so he's come with me to see how it's done."

"It's...nice to meet you," Misaki said, eyeing the two policemen carefully, "If you don't mind, could you tell me what brings you here?"

"We've been informed that you have been sexually harassed by Jeff Honda and were sent here to listen to your side of the story. Since the person who reported the harassment isn't related to you, we need to make sure that it's not just a trick."

Akihiko wasn't as intimidated as Misaki. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I thought the police often doesn't really take action when someone reports rape."

"Unfortunately, that is partially true," Sho admitted, "We always try to help the victims, but in most cases there's too little evidence to continue our investigation. If we can't tell whether a report is real or not, it's hard to arrest someone. However, Honda-san has been accused of raping a young lady before, who called the police afterwards. Back then, he managed to get away with it, but we aren't going to let that happen a second time. If the charges against him are true, he has to take responsibility for what he's done."

Hearing that someone else had gone through the same only made Misaki worry all the more. One girl had been brave enough to tell the authorities, yet he felt as though she wasn't the only one besides him who had been sexually harassed by Jeff. Who knew how many victims were actually keeping quiet out of fear and shame like him?

If Jeff didn't get arrested soon, more harmless housekeepers would suffer the same fate. Misaki couldn't let that happen. Whatever the police wanted to know, he would tell them the whole truth. Surely, it was going to be painful, but it needed to be done.

Mustering all of his courage, he folded his hands in his lap. "I'll tell you everything," he said confidently, "Just ask me something you want to know."

Sho nodded, flashing a warm, friendly smile. "We'll do this at your pace, Takahashi-kun," he explained in a gentle voice, "Let us know if you need a break or if we're going too fast. Our only purpose right now is to help you. We appreciate your collaboration."

Kuro, who still hadn't uttered a single word since their arrival, got a small device out of the pouch of his belt and pressed one of the buttons. Akihiko assumed it was a recorder, but he wasn't entirely sure of it. The device was laid down on the coffee table, right in the center.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, but Sho eventually broke the silence.

"Takahashi-kun, why were you at the Honda Estate?" he asked calmly.

Feeling extremely nervous, Misaki played with the hem of his shirt and breathed in slowly. This was the first time he'd ever come into contact with the police and it gave him a bad feeling, even though he was the victim. Sitting across from two complete strangers, who both happened to be male as well, was really scary to him.

Noticing how the teen felt, Sho waited patiently for his answer. Talking to rape victims required understanding and patience; staying calm and being nice was the key. It was never nice to discuss unpleasant events, so he knew it was hard for Misaki.

After another deep breath, Misaki began to answer the question. "I had a job as a housekeeper, because I'm trying to earn money to pay my tuition fees. I found an article online and decided to apply for the job."

"What kinds of requirements were listed in that article?"

"The housekeeper had to be capable of cooking meals, doing the laundry and cleaning the house. It also mentioned that the Honda family preferred a female housekeeper."

Biting his lip, Misaki hoped that neither of the policemen judged him for what he had said. Looking away, he met Akihiko's gaze, finding no emotion in those violet eyes. Not being able to guess what his master was thinking made him insecure, because his thoughts were rather pessimistic at the moment.

"Do we have to take a break?" Sho asked, realizing that he had lost the youth's attention.

"Ah—no, I'm fine!" Misaki replied immediately, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"All right, then I will keep going. What kind of impression did Honda-san leave on you when you met him?"

"He was very kind to me and praised me for the simplest of things, like how good-hearted I was. I felt like he was exaggerating sometimes, but I was still glad that he didn't look down on me. Honestly, he didn't seem to have any problems with me being a guy either."

While he answered that question, Misaki began to wonder why he didn't find it suspicious before. It was rather strange that Jeff had chosen him as the new housekeeper; Misaki's name may be girly, but he was most certainly a guy! Besides, there had to be more experienced people out there who could've taken on the job. It made him wonder if Jeff had planned everything from the very beginning.

He didn't know what to think of that man anymore and he preferred to keep it that way.

All of a sudden, a hand placed itself on Misaki's head and ruffled his hair. This made the boy flinch and move away swiftly, his eyes wide as they stared at the hand that had touched him. As his gaze met Akihiko's, he saw the faintest hint of hurt in the author's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Misaki apologized, "I'm a bit jumpy right now."

Shaking his head, Akihiko retracted his hand and broke eye contact. Not a word came from his lips, but Misaki could easily tell that his reaction had hurt his master's feelings. Even with his fear to trust any other men, he felt sorry for Akihiko as he was aware that the man was simply trying to comfort him. Part of him wanted to accept Akihiko's help, but he was too scared and uncertain.

The two men on the other sofa watched them both closely, yet said nothing about it. Sho tried to continue where they had left off with another question, feeling like the pieces of the puzzle were slowly but surely getting together.

"Takahashi-kun, can you tell us what happened when you started working at the Honda Estate?"

"Honda-san showed me around and asked me to cook dinner for him. There wasn't anything special about it, but when I went to my bedroom I found a maid uniform in the closet. At first I thought that it was a mistake, so I asked Honda-san where the actual uniform was. He said that there weren't any male uniforms and that I had to wear the maid dress."

Tapping his fingers on his knee, Sho resisted cocking an eyebrow. "If I understand correctly, Honda-san forced you to wear a dress despite knowing that you're male?" The frown found its way to his face when Misaki nodded. "Did you go against him?"

Shaking his head very slowly, Misaki felt his face grow even hotter. The memory of putting on that uniform was already bad enough, but humiliating himself in front of the police was worse. They were probably thinking of him as a coward, and they were right about that. Back then, he was so scared to lose his job that he hardly protested at all and the situation had gotten out of hand because of that. He wished he'd never put that stupid dress on; it would have saved him from the misery and the pain.

Crying over the mistakes he'd made wasn't going to solve anything, Misaki realized. He needed to focus on the present and try to leave the past behind. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. With his none too optimistic mentality, Misaki had little faith in a full recovery, thinking that the scars would keep reminding him of what Jeff had done.

"If I may be so bold, what Jeff said to Misaki about the uniforms is a lie," Akihiko said, successfully capturing everyone's attention, "I have known him for quite some time and he always orders custom uniforms for his housekeepers. Since he already knew that Misaki is a guy, I believe that he made him wear a maid dress on purpose."

"How would you describe your relationship with Honda-san?" Sho asked, showing interest in what the author had said.

"We're both authors and met a year ago, if I remember correctly. During my last visit, I met Misaki and was surprised that he was wearing an outfit for girls, because Jeff never seemed interested in guys before."

"Then why do you think he forced Takahashi-kun to wear the maid uniform?"

Akihiko shrugged, not ashamed to admit that he didn't know. "I can't tell what's going on inside Jeff's head," he replied bluntly, "but if he's interested in men I would've expected more male housekeepers at his place."

Every time that name was said out loud, Misaki cringed and suppressed a whimper. Akihiko managed to talk about that guy so casually even after finding out what was underneath that mask of his, and it frightened the brunet. Perhaps Akihiko was just pretending to be calm, but that meant that he was wearing a mask as well. Momentarily, Misaki began to tell himself not to be so weak and expose himself to the outside world. At the same time, however, he knew that he had to be honest towards the police if he wanted Jeff to get what he deserved.

Giving Misaki some time to think, Sho kept his eyes on Akihiko and decided to listen to his observations. While he was supposed to ask the victim questions, he got the feeling that Akihiko had some valuable information for them too.

"Usami-san, did you notice anything peculiar about the way Honda-san treated Takahashi-kun when you paid him a visit?"

"Not right away…" Akihiko trailed off as his gaze traveled to the boy next to him, "Things took a strange turn when he ordered Misaki to…pleasure him with his mouth. I would go into further detail, but I'm sure Misaki won't appreciate that. Anyway, it was quite shocking as it happened right in front of my eyes."

"Did you try to stop him?"

"No, but I would have if I knew that it was against Misaki's will. I didn't hear him put up a fight, so I assumed it was consensual. What I think is that Misaki didn't protest, because he was afraid to lose his job."

Sho nodded in understanding, also looking at Misaki. The latter refused to make eye contact with anyone, keeping his head low. With his hair hiding most of his face, it was impossible to see his expression. Without a doubt, he was ashamed of his own actions.

The room fell silent for a moment or two, the atmosphere growing tense. The next question was going to be the hardest one to answer for Misaki, so Sho was reluctant to continue. Shaking visibly, Misaki was incapable of hiding how uneasy he was and that didn't go unnoticed. All eyes were on him, making him want to crawl into a shell and isolate himself. It wasn't a feeling he usually had, but being raped had damaged his personality.

Finally, he looked up through watery eyes. To Akihiko and the policemen, it seemed like the teen was on the verge of tears already. They all held their breaths, waiting to see what Misaki would do, but the latter said nothing. Sho took this as a sign to move on.

"Takahashi-kun, what else did Honda-san do to you?"

The question triggered more memories, so clear that tears began to form in Misaki's eyes once more. Seeing Jeff's face, even if it was only in his head, terrified him. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, hoping that no one would see it, but he knew it was in vain. Again, the poor housekeeper felt weak and chicken-hearted. His eyes fluttered shut and he sighed, his heart rate quickening.

"He…he came into my room early in the morning," Misaki said, speaking so softly that it was barely audible, "I woke up and he was on top of me, covering my mouth with his hand so that I couldn't cry out. Then he gagged me and started t-touching me while I tried to break free, but I was powerless." At that point, Misaki's voice cracked, yet he wasn't crying. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Even though I kept praying that he would stop, it only got worse, and eventually he…r-raped me."

Nobody spoke after Misaki's story, either too shocked or disgusted by what they heard. The policemen got all the information they needed and were ready to leave, but Sho wanted to reassure the young brunet first. He got up from his seat and patted Misaki's shoulder, smiling at him as if to say that he was safe.

Akihiko noticed that Misaki stiffened when he was touched, which was exactly what he expected. When Sho released his housekeeper, he thanked him and Kuro, who thanked them in return for their time and cooperation. He saw the two out and when he got back to the living room area, Misaki was still sitting on the couch, his eyes hidden behind his bangs. Taking a couple of steps closer, the novelist could suddenly hear the faint sound of sobbing.

Right then, Akihiko had absolutely no idea what to do. He was terrible at comforting others; there was one way that could make anyone stop crying, but…that could only go badly. Shaking his head vigorously, he approached Misaki cautiously and kneeled down in front of him. The boy's big eyes were red and puffy, tears spilling from them. All the feelings that he'd kept bottled up inside were breaking free.

"It's all right," Akihiko spoke in a gentle voice, "You can cry…if it helps."

Misaki looked up at him with those watery eyes, sniffing softly while more tears ran down his red cheeks. His lower lip was swollen as he had been biting it to fight back the sobs, but the tiniest smile played on his lips.

"M-master, I—"

"You don't have to keep calling me that," the author said, "I know that it makes you uncomfortable and I don't want to remind you of what happened at the Honda Estate. If anything I do makes you uneasy, please tell me, because this is the first time for me to have someone live under the same roof as I."

The kindness behind those words made Misaki's smile falter as guilt took control of him once more. Although he couldn't stand Akihiko when they first met, there was no denying that he had misjudged said man. Still, he simply didn't have the courage to trust Akihiko just yet.

"I'm so sorry, Usagi-san," he whispered through his sobbing.

"It would be a lie to say that it doesn't hurt my feelings, but I understand why you can't rely on me. For that reason, I will find someone else you can talk to. In the meantime, just take it easy and don't go outside by yourself, okay?"

A fleeting smile crossed Akihiko's face before he got up from his spot on the floor. He wanted to ruffle the boy's hair and tell him it would all be fine, but he couldn't. Just like Misaki, he was worried that Jeff might be near them.

Akihiko walked away from the sofa and went to his office. There wasn't anything he could do to help Misaki, but there was definitely someone who could. It was a matter of looking for that one person, and Akihiko was confident that he would find her.

Someone had to help Misaki leave those painful memories behind.


End file.
